Curious to know the main reason?

[rodp]

My standard reply is:
”I’m sorry, but if I say yes to you, I have to say yes to everybody else. I hope you understand?”

Particularly useful response to people with horses.

And is that the reason you say no, or just a way of saying no, but for some other reason?

 

[JockCroft]

Have metal detector, bought specifically to find a disc coulter assy. I had lost. Thought £100 detector would easily find it. Recon it was in a strip 6m x 120m. One or two other things that I knew had come loose on cultivators and a toplink definitely in a field corner.
Anyway's found unidentifiable bits of rust. Half horse shoes and dug many empty holes. After 3 hours decided time for home. Climbed over gate, slipped and stood on base of detector, broke plastic bracket where it hinges.
Can anyone near weld plastic?

Conclusion-- DONT WASTE YOUR TIME> find another hobby, like watching paint dry

 

[rodp]

We allowed someone to detect once. Found some interesting things, that had context with the property. Went off with them, never to be seen again. His widow stuck all the finds on ebay apparently............
Shooters...........as said take liberties. Mates turn up. Mates of mates turn up. Nephews of mates of mates turn up...............
Ramblers.............AKA trespassing scum......
And so on........

That's bad to not give you first choice of items of interest pertaining to the property. Surprised at the shooters though, permissions are usually very closely guarded and very often the location is never mentioned.

 

[DrWazzock]

And really if there is interesting stuff here then it should either be left alone or go into a local museum. It shouldn’t be going miles away to be flogged on eBay.

 

[Exfarmer]

I had a detectorist come for years. I have no idea if I saw everything but there were one or two nice pieces he gave me. He certainly discovered a Roman settlement and turned up hundreds of Denari .
All his finds were handed over to the Norfolk Museam service for cataloguing
I found it fascinating to walk a field and wonder what my Roman forebears would make of todays world

 

[DrWazzock]

Have metal detector, bought specifically to find a disc coulter assy. I had lost. Thought £100 detector would easily find it. Recon it was in a strip 6m x 120m. One or two other things that I knew had come loose on cultivators and a toplink definitely in a field corner.
Anyway's found unidentifiable bits of rust. Half horse shoes and dug many empty holes. After 3 hours decided time for home. Climbed over gate, slipped and stood on base of detector, broke plastic bracket where it hinges.
Can anyone near weld plastic?

Conclusion-- DONT WASTE YOUR TIME> find another hobby, like watching paint dry

I lost a dual wheel clamp and so dug out an old metal detector we’d had as kids in the ‘70’s. The Mrs spent hours going round the field as did I. Nothing. Then a couple of years later a trusted detectorist who we allow on here as we know him well did actually find the said clamp but he reckoned it was about a thousand to one chance.

 

[DrWazzock]

I thought I’d lost one of the hinged plates off my paraplow so sent the Mrs round the field with the detector looking for it. She couldn’t find it but did find a Euro. A week or two later I was sweeping up in the shed and found the paraplow plate on the floor. Must have dropped off when I hitched it up.

 

[Goweresque]

In defence of detectorists, some years I allowed an organised club to run a couple of events on my place, and they asked if there was anything I wanted looking for, things lost in a known location, which as it happens I did. In the 70s my mother lost her gold wedding ring in a field, stacking bales of hay in a particular spot. Despite her spending hours looking for it at the time, and me doing the same with a detector years later it was never found. But one of the detectorists found it, and its now back on her finger, she was totally made up, she had bought a replacement but it wasn't the same. So as with all things, most people are fine, its the 10-20% of a**holes who spoil it for everyone else. Though it does seem that the a**hole proportion is rising these days.......

 

[Red Fred]

You know you are getting old when your most valuable finds are things you dropped yourself- I found the starting handle from my S3 Landie which I must have dropped 30 years ago, and the scarce Nuffield badge from the front of the 4/65 from the 70s.

 

[Bald Rick]

Tony testicles does the shooting
Frank the cranc does the detectoring

Known and trusted (& they give me Christmas presents)

 

[steveR]

My standard reply is:
”I’m sorry, but if I say yes to you, I have to say yes to everybody else. I hope you understand?”

Particularly useful response to people with horses.

My standard reply to shooting and detectorist requests, is that we already allow someone on the farm to carry out these hobbies.

Horses just get told No.

 

[Landrover]

We have one guy that comes metal detecting, has been coming for years, it's helps that he is a plasterer and that he can get us free tickets to Newcastle falcons...........! The people we have bother with is motorcyclist's ! We have a enduro every year hosted by the local club and it's great no mess no problems but for a few weekend after the local wannabe racers think because we hold a event here it's alright for them and there mates to "just have a ride of the track" and "its alright cause the farmer gave us permission when we saw him in the pub"

 

[Netherfield]

Farm at Ferrybridge close to the power station, back in the 70s Mrs did quite a bit of detecting on their farm, come up with a lot of Roman coins, can't remember what happened to it completely, treasure trove no doubt, but she came away with a few grand for herself.

 

[Mickeydredd]

The trustworthy applicants should be able to provide references, that's always a good indicator of their reliability.

 

[David.]

I had a detectorist come for years. I have no idea if I saw everything but there were one or two nice pieces he gave me. He certainly discovered a Roman settlement and turned up hundreds of Denari .
All his finds were handed over to the Norfolk Museam service for cataloguing
I found it fascinating to walk a field and wonder what my Roman forebears would make of todays world

If they were all like that, there would be no problem getting permission. First chaps we allowed were affiliated to local history society
I stopped them all when I stopped getting shown finds, and realised most of the "mates" that insinuate their way in are just fleabay hawkers, unfortunately.

 

[Nearly]

I watch 'detectorists' tv series many times. It is hillarious.
Then I find out that 'Becky' was in 'tipping the velvet' and now I can't concentrate on the daft antics of the lads.

 

[melted welly]

And Geoff and steve think they have permission to come without the original person you said could , they bring a mate each who then thinks they have permission too etc etc. These people have no idea about climbing gates at the hinge end or not to ruin fences climbing them or see they are scaring the livestock sh.itless . They havent a clue about shutting gates correctly etc. Its easier to just be the grumpy farmer and say No.

Then one of them brings a dog, then another, then there’s a fecking dog fight on the newly emerged carrot beds, then none of them get back, nor the next bloke who comes knocking.

 

[flowerpot]

We have had metal detectors for several years, there can't be much to find now. A couple of men from the local club came and they found some very, very interesting things. They did show us, and the Finds Officer from the local museum, some went to the British Museum and we had some money for them. They also found arrow flints from the year dot - well they recognised them which I wouldn't have done. Also Spitfire bullets.

Mostly it is old horseshoes, buckles, buttons, bits of machinery.

My two men got old and retired. The next very keen man turned up, with his mate of course. They proceeded to dig across our front field pasture as I found out walking across it and putting my foot in a hole. They had dug a hole, put the top back, but of course the cattle had pulled it out again. It was bad enough me falling in it, but what if one of the cattle, or my horse had put their foot down the hole? So I wasn't very pleased with them.
They haven't come back.

But it is the "mate" that turns up without warning, or the car full of friends deciding to have a picnic in the gateway, or the night hawks. I won't be so keen to have anyone in future.

 

[renewablejohn]

Farm is a lost Roman hill fort site and will remain lost until a proper dig is organised for the site.

 

[nxy]

I find myself in a strange situation. I am a migrant in someone else's country so never refuse access to my land, its their country after all. This extends to the local chasse (armed hunters) and anyone who has ever asked to come with a metal detector (one ex pat). Since the french revolution the normal situation is that game belongs to the local population not land owners. Anyone with less than 60 hectares (and it has to be grouped together so two blocks of 30 doesn't count) cannot pretend to "own" game. So until recently if you owned less than 60 hectares you could not prevent local hunters shooting on your land. The EU said this wasn't legal so now you can declare yourself "anti shooting" but this means you cannot shoot your own game and are responsible for any damage surrounding landowners have from wandering game coming off your land.

So my neighbouring farmers have no right to come on my land except if coming to shoot.