Solent Metal Detecting Club

The Club has permission to search on a number of farms. Permission is for Sunday only for most farms.

You may prefer to search on beaches, in which case, to search on Crown Estate foreshore ( about half the coastline ) you will need a permit from the Crown Estate. This is easy to obtain and at the moment is free. A permit for one year can be obtained simply by going to the web site http://copyright.thecrownestate.co.uk/metaldetecting

You will need to fill in the form with your name and address and email address. You will then be emailed a permit similar to the one shown below. This is valid for one year, at the end of which you will need to re-apply.

The Crown Estate web site has information on detecting on Crown Estate Foreshore and a set of maps.

See http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/our_portfolio/marine/other-activity/metal-detecting.htm

Alternatively, go to http://copyright.thecrownestate.co.uk/metaldetecting ( where you apply for a permit )

Click on Site Map at the bottom right of the page.

Scroll down to the list of Marine items. ( middle of the page )

Click on Metal Detecting. ( 6th item up from the bottom of the list )

This page gives information on metal detecting on Crown foreshore and has a set of maps ( pdf format ) showing the coast with the Crown Estate foreshore marked in red.

You will need to know the tide times for the beach on which you intend to search.

To obtain tide times for the next 7 days, go to :-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/coast_and_sea/tide_tables/

Select the area, e.g. South then the nearest port, e.g. Portsmouth

To get tide times for the next 30 days, go to:- http://www.pol.ac.uk/ntslf/tides Select the nearest port

For charts ( which you can purchase ) that will give high and low water for any beach in the UK as well as Spain and the north coast of France, go to www.quicktide.co.uk or http://www.norfolkcoast.co.uk/site/quicktidetablecouk/ to get details of the three charts for South West, South East and North which provide high and low water times for 2012 and 2013.

Or, - you can purchase tide table for the year at any fishing tackle shop, yacht/boat shop or at some general stores/newsagents near a harbour or seaside location.

To search on privately owned land you will need to obtain permission of the owner. It is not wise to rely on permission given verbally. A written agreement is required. This can take the form of a simple document stating the details of the permission and needs to be signed by the land owner and the detectorist(s). Shown below is an example of the sort of document required. This document is the one recommended by the Federation of Independent Detectorists for use by its member..

Note:- A Landowner/Detectorist contract can be downloaded from www.treasurehunting.co.uk

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