Hello to all forum members. My name is Mark, I am 55 years old, and semi-retired. I have always taken a very keen interest in local history, and about 3 years ago stumbled into the hobby of metal detecting. This is a great hobby which helps to keep me active and affords me the opportunity to discover artefacts from the Roman times through to the 2nd world war. One of the biggest parts of the hobby is obtaining permission from farmers and landowner's who are kind enough to allow you access to their fields to detect on. One problem!! There are a very small minority who spoil this relationship with their irresponsible behaviour. This is extremely frustrating to the detectorist who behaves according to the hobbies rules and code of conduct. I am a member of both The Federation of Independent Detectorists and The National Council For Metal Detecting.Both bodies have very strict rules of code & conduct, and they also provide me with Public Liability Insurance. I currently have 2 small farms that I have permission to detect on, but they are only small and having visited them often over the last 3 years I tend to be walking over ground that I have already covered. Apart from finding historical artefacts which are always shown to the landowner to see if they would like them, I was actively involved in locating the crash site of a Blenheim Bomber which crashed in 1943. The reason for the search was in order for a commemorative plaque to be placed on the site prior to the construction of new houses. I have also located a farmers wedding band lost 15 years ago whilst harvesting. So as you can see it's not all about hunting for some hidden treasure that is going to make you wealthy, although this does occur, and many of the greatest archaeological finds of the last 20 years have been instigated in the first instance from a detectorists find. I am located in Arundel West Sussex, so ideally am looking for any farmer in Sussex who would consider allowing me access to their farm in order for me to pursue my hobby. I am more than willing to offer my services around the farm in return. I hope I have placed this post in the right section! Thank you for taking the time to read. If you would like further information either about me or my hobby don't hesitate to contact me. Regards, Markl