DetectingWales.com

                           Not been on the land for some time now but have occasionally managed a bit of beach detecting with little or no important, or interesting, finds. I have two small fields that are generally under crop with winter wheat and the the last couple of years I have missed the harvest and the fields have been re-seeded before I got the opportunity to swing the coil over them.

                           Swung by there last week end and the wheat had been cropped, leaving stubble that looks to be about eight inches high. The fields have never produced much, other than late Georgian junk and a fist full of old US coinage in one small area. With my Mrs having said that Saturday is my own, I think I will break out the Safari and fit the thirteen inch ultimate coil and give the fields a good going over. I may just also pack the Q40 and swing it over a raised track that separates the fields one from the other.

                          If the weather hold good, I will probably make a day of it.

Best of luck Chris. Hope you find something nice 🤞

                                   Good evening Val. I just hope that I can stay on my feet; I took a tumble in the garden the other week and it took me over a week to get properly mobile again. Hit the ground like a sack of spuds before I even knew what was happening! Doing well now though and redsy for a spot of treasure hunting. ;)

Easy done Chris, easy done. At least you didn’t end up in plaster like me  ::)
My balance leaves a bit to be desired lately. I’ve even been talking about putting a hand rail at the side of the two steps down from the back door  :o

Remember, pick your feet up !

I learned , last night they’ve done the last grass cut down the farm. I think I might be tempted  ;D

                        Didn't actually make it out to swing the coil on Saturday due to my Mrs being so upset over our cancelled Mediterranean cruise, but I did get out there on Sunday morning. I ignored anything scrappy and only chased up interesting signals, without much success. Not a single coin to be found all morning but I did get to chat with the sprayer operator working the large field next to mine.

                         I asked for permission to detect the fields that the sprayer operator was working and he said I would have to talk to his boss and I should visit the farm down the road. I popped along to the farm when I finished at lunchtime and the entrance looked like the gateway to Fort Knox, with all sorts of instructions implying 'bog off if you don't have an appointment'. Me thinks I will drop a letter in their letter box this week and request permission.

Sorry you didn’t get out as planned Chris but if it’s any consolation I did get out,on Sunday, and my trip was about as productive as yours  :'(

It was a field I hadn’t tried on the other side of the road. Another 4 fields to be precise. Had a roam around one, last year, found nowt, skirted  around another two, earlier this year, found nowt but thought this one looked more promising, being near to a farmhouse. Wrong ! Not all is as it seems, it seems  ::)

Only managed 3 hours and came home with the toastiest, toasted farthing I’ve ever seen, a musket ball and a rather nice pot leg (another one ! ) oh and a couple of bolts that insisted they were worth saving !

If it were me Chris, I’d brave the automatic iron gates, the Doberman’s, the man on guard duty and knock on the door. Lots of letters get lost in the post, if you get my meaning. Can’t beat a personal appearance. I know it’s dodgy, catching him at the right time. See if you can find the home phone number and ask, when’s convenient ?
Best of luck with it, I know it’s hard work but could be rewarding.

                                      Jesus, you just had to mention Doberman, didn't you? When I entered the two fields that I was detecting on Sunday morning I had to pass a property that has a big rolling gate and what sounds like a rip-your-leg-off doggy, that makes a hell of a racket when I pass the property line. I often fear that the bloomin thing may break out and get me!

                                      Well, on Sunday morning I was two thirds of the way down the largest field and well away from the house when I heard barking behind me and quite close. I turned to see a Doberman, dark and sleek, dancing over the stubble towards me. Shit what now? Looking past the dog, towards the house, I could see the owners standing outside his big rolling gate. I lifted the coil into the air so he could better see me and he just walked back into his property, leaving me to chat with my new doggy pal.

                                      The dog moved towards me, away from me, to the left of me, and to the right of me but always keeping about twelve yards away. The dog wasn't very old or very large but not a puppy. Don't ask me what sex it was; I was too preoccupied with trying not to get attacked, to notice if it had any add on pieces.

                                      Despite all the barking, there was no barring of teeth and it's longish tail looked as though it was wagging but perhaps the tail movement was caused by all the dog's jumping about. I talked low, slow, and gentle to the dog and made to move slowly towards the property. The dog wasn't too happy with that and it dawned on me that dogs have superb hearing and it could probably hear the audio of my machine better than I could; never turned my detector off so fast in all the years I have been detecting! As I got half way down the field the dog turned it's back on me and disappeared ahead of me somewhere. As I arrived at the property both dog and owned had disappeared and the rolling gate was closing firmly against all comers; whoever they may be.

                                     It all left me feeling a little uneasy! Undies were clean, though only just!

                                     

Oh my, what an experience for you Chris. I’m assuming your not a dog person so would have been on your guard not knowing what to expect.
My guess, as a multi dog owner, is that he is regularly let out to roam that field, which is usually void of humans.
I suspect his behaviour was purely defensive. Even so, it’s impossible to know what his reaction might have been if you’d got too close.
2 of my 3 dogs are very protective, especially of their patch, and will always bark at any sign of invasion till they’re told it’s OK. One of them thinks he owns the lane as well !
For your future ref. Any dog who means you harm will skulk around slowly and (usually) growl, go low and then pounce.
They say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch ! Dead right  ::)

I was going to PM this, it’s a bit ‘off topic’, but thought it might be useful to others. I will quickly add, watch out for cattle as well !  I experienced the same thing with them and my detector (using the speaker) a few years back. I was thankful they were on the other side of a hedge.

                              We had dogs for many many years and I have grown quite used all the doggy friends that appear to want to have a look at what we have found in the hole in the ground but the Newfoundland monster that wanted to snaffle my sandwiches and the big dog that peed in my bag when it was unattended were both a little less than welcome.

                             I think that you are spot on with all the above information and I will keep it in mind the next time out. I'm not over keen on sharing a field with horses, bulls, or cows but I don't mind sheep too much. Mind you, I remember a time out with the NWDDs and climbing over a drystone wall into a sheep field and the whole flock came running at me; I made it back over the wall PDQ. I was wearing a large flouresant jacket and I think the sheep thought I was a farm hand come to feed them.  ::)

                            I will have to clean up Sunday's junk and post a couple of pics.