DetectingWales.com

Hi everyone, just signed up after coming across the NWDD site. Although my main madness is birding (I'm now a retired twitcher after giving up charging round the UK searching out rare birds) I've always fancied looking for hidden treasure, especially as I'm a big reader about anything Roman and would love to find something from that period. Problem is I don't have a md but would love to come along to a meet in North Wales and get a feel for the thing so if you've got anything coming up and you wouldn't a mind a civvy  tagging along to see some of you guys in action I'd be interested in joining in. I see you were at Talacre recently, an area I know well from my birding there and along to Point of Ayr but never thought of the place as somewhere to go digging!
Cheers to all
Julian

welcome aboard bcr ...

Hello there mate. Welcome to the DW site and the NWDD section. NWDD is an eclectic mix of wierdos and misfits but generally a happy bunch.  :D Keep an eye on the forum for goings on and developments. We're going to have a club meeting soon so the best bet is probably to come along to that initially. We'll post details on this forum and you're welcome to come along and meet the crowd.

Cheers, I'll keep an eye out for any future meetings.

Welcome, you will get a twitch when you find some Gold  ;)

Hi Julian,
                  welcome to the Dirt diggers. It sounds like a group of welsh News Paper reporters, but we are far from that. I, along with Richie, have been working the beach at Talacre for some time now.

                            Chris :)

Bit ironic that Chris, I worked for 40 years as a newspaper reporter/sub-editor!
Julian

gold on them north wales beaches oooh i likey  :o

Oops; open mouth and put foot in it!

Well Julian, if you detect on Talacre sands you will find plenty of scrap iron and WWII left overs; not to mention broken glass and hypodermic needles. Go easy with the spade when you start to dig; the beach was mined during WWII and the Ministry of Defence tell me that they are unable to confirm that all mines were removed. They also said that they could not confirm that any were left in situe.  ???

The dunes are out of bounds but that still leaves plenty of beach to go at. During the last year or so, I have removed some 40kgs of .30 and .303 bullets from the area; along with some 50cal rounds, three hypodermic needles, and many kgs of broken glass.

It's a great place to be just after dawn when there is only you, your detector, and the waking seabirds in the area.

                            Chris   :)

Talacre beach well described Chris  ;)  :)

Hi Richie,
                I have been missing our detecting sessions at the beach and am looking forward to the start of the caravan season on the 6th of March. Just waiting to see if my numbers come up on the lottery and then I am goint to get the EuroAce ready for the club dig tomorrow. Will meet you at the same location and time; don't oversleep tomorrow. We will also pick Chris upon the way past.

                Maybe Julian would like to join us, at Talacre, one Sunday; I'm sure he would find the beach interesting.

                                              Chris

Hi Chris
That all sounds great with me see you tomorrow and I shall not be late lol  ;)  :). And yes I'm happy for Julian to join us at Talacre if he wishes too   :)
                                                                           Richie  :)

Thanks for the offer guys and I'll get down one Sunday, looking after my grandson tomoz so can't make it then. Is it just ammo you look for at Talacre then?

Hi Julian
We wont be at Talacre tomorrow unfortunately. There are other things at Talacre i.e coins etc but bullets are aplenty lol  ;)
                                                   Richie  ;)   

Good morning Julian.,
                                      most detectorists avoid the sands at Talacre because of the scrap and WWII schrapnel. Bullets abound in their thousands and screws / nails litter the sands. You can pick up the odd decimal coin after a Bank Holiday but you can also get plenty of fresh air in your lungs and relax with the sounds of the sea in your ears.

                                     When I first started walking the sands at Talacre, I was amazed by the number of dead birds and seals that I came across. I came upon three dead seals in my first season down there and I no longer count the dead birds that I see. Litter can also be something of a problem; the tourists put there trash in the bins and the birds pull it all out again. The hypodermics that I spoke of earlier, tend to turn up in the flotsam on the high tide lines and are not always easy to see.

                                                                      Chris  :)

Morning to you Chris, I know Talacre pretty well I was birdwatching there 40 years ago  when I lived in Shotton. I must confess if I took up md-ing I would be most interested in looking for roman coins and anything old. Just out of interest do you just pick any field to have a look at (with permission of course) and hope for the best or do you put in a lot of work studying historical locations?
Julian

 Hi Julian,                           
                       I don't know about others but I detect the beach at Talacre; it's free. Just as long as you have a Crown Permit, you can detect between the high and low water marks for as long as you like and there is no closed season. I am not looking for anything specific but am pleased with whatever comes out of the ground. I also have permission to detect on two very small farms close to my home but am still getting to know the farmers and their land. Outings with the the North Wales Dirt Diggers can be very helpful and informative; they are a great group of lads and I enjoy our days out detecting.

                       Chris   :)

Welcome to DW :)

Cheers for that Chris and thanks for the welcome Probono. Just wondering when the next North Wales club meet is and where so that I can try and get along?

Next meeting is at Offas tavern Prestatyn on this Wednesday at 7-30

Perhaps we will see you there Julian?   :)

Sorry I was thinking about any outdoor meeting where I could come along and see for myself how you guys operate and what type of machinery you use and cost of them etc. Anything planned for outdoors coming up? I'm afraid evening meetings are difficult for me to get to. Cheers Julian

Maybe it would be better for you to arrange to meet up with some of the guys at Talacre. Would that be possible to arrange Chris and Richie?

                  I see no problem there, Richie and I often work the beach at Talacre. Most times, we turn out on a Sunday morning and chase the targets all day; stopping only for a bite, a drink, and a quick chat here and there. Aint found any treasure yet!!!   ::)

Thanks for the offer guys, if you're doing this Sunday I should be ok to get along. Any place in particular you'll be on the beach and I see high tide is around 9.30am so do you work the tide as well? I'll bring my bins, might get an early  migrant wheatear on the dune area! Cheers Julian.

Hi Julian,
                 I think that this Sunday would be a no go but next Sunday should be fine. I normally meet up with Richie at 0700 hrs in McDonalds Flint; we have a drink and chat before driving down to Talacre and parking at the Smugglers Inn carpark on Station Road. In the event of a very high tide; we work close to the foot of the dunes and then move out as the tide dropps back.

                 I will post some pics from Talacre on this thread, later tonight.

                                  Chris   :)

Ok cheers Chris, if  you let me know about a week on Sunday I'll do my best to get along there. Like you  I always park  at the Smugglers Inn.
Cheers Julian