Metal Detecting Holidays in the UK

[Blackadder43]

Hi guys, i live and detect in the UK.
I have some spare rooms in my house and i also own a 2 bedroom flat.
What i am wondering and what i need to know is how much interest is there in the USA for coming over here on detecting holidays?
I thought what better way to investigate this than to ask the people themselves....

So, what would you guys expect in a detecting holiday here in the UK....
Would you expect full on day in day out detecting?
or would you want to take a look around aswell?

How much would you guys expect to pay for acommodation, detecting permission, transport, catering/selfcatering....etc.....

Would you guys be happy with the 50/50 agreement that is pretty standard over here with finds that are recorded as treasure or finds that are valued at more than £1000?

Need some help with this venture and hopefully you guys can give me some pointers.......

Thanks for any input.....

 

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[Iron Patch]

I think most go to detect, and maybe spend a little time looking around, but not much. As for treasure and the owner's cut, if that's the law then it's not even a question you need to ask.

The question for you is how are you going to provide land that continues to have good hunting? My personal opinion on paid hunts is it's too easy for things to get shady, and I really believe it does happen. If someone is making thousands of dollars doing hunts, if things start to run a little dry it's pretty easy to buy 5K of finds to make 50k. That's the reason I would never do a paid hunt because I could never be sure I was making legit finds. (I've also heard stories but won't bother getting into them) All that said, people do this, and some with great success so don't let my personal opinion stop you. If I could make fist-fulls of money I would do it myself.

 

[Blackadder43]

Brilliant Iron Patch, this is exactly the type of discussion i was hoping to generate.
Hopefully i can answer your querys:

The question for you is how are you going to provide land that continues to have good hunting?

At present i have approx 1000acres of land to detect on, this is fine for me and i have found some Hammered coins dating back to 1247, coin weights from 1422, medieval bronze cauldron/vessel legs plus buttons, badges etc.
This i dont think would be good enough to take people to, although i have made those finds they are few and far between.
So, with that said one of my farmers knows almost all the farms within a 60 mile radius of me.
This puts me into land that has definate Roman activity, plus obviously documented Medieval history.
So from a business point of view getting productive land is not going to be an issue.

My personal opinion on paid hunts is it's too easy for things to get shady, and I really believe it does happen.

I agree, even with the small amount of research i have already done i can see its happening, unfortunately humans have always been greedy and will continue to be so.
I on the other hand wouldnt be able to cater for a "paid hunt" so to speak.
My home could only manage 3 extra guests at a time and 2 of those would have to be a couple and share, and my flat only has 2 bedrooms, so at max with 2 couples could only cater for 4.
I am not under any illusion that this criteria would be filled on a constant basis, so i am working on 3 people at the moment.
This i would not consider to be a number that falls into the paid hunt scenario.
If i decide to run with this then i am going to have to do my homework and get the land permission, and then i will have to go myself to make sure finds are coming out of the ground....
If i did get permission then obviously i would have to reward the landowner if i am taking 3 or 4 people there to hunt.
For this i was thinking in the region of £50 per week per person added to the "rental" costs of my hospitality, this would go direct to the farmer ensuring me exclusive rights to his land.
It would be an ongoing thing for me to find new farms and offer the same terms to them.

So to summ up, my wife and myself have spare rooms in our house and a flat we rent out.
We are at an age where we are sick of working in the rat race and we are exploring other options.
I am passionate about detecting and very honest (this is why i make a crap self employed person)

I would not organise big hunts, i cant be doing with the hassle of that, infact i would more than likely be joining you every day detecting....

Yes obviously i am thinking about this in a business way but on the flip side i am not here to make millions or rip people off, so long as i am paid and everyone has a good time and finds stuff then we would be happy.

 

[Dano Sverige]

It also depends on where you are and what's in reasonable distance tourism wise? Are you willing to pick up/drop off at the airport/station? Willing to ferry them to and from tourist sites/sights?
Are you and/or your wife good cooks? Runny eggs and nuked bacon doesn't hack it! Are you prepared to do all the work and running about concerning finds liason officers/UKDFD site etc,and explaining that their finds have to stay here for 1 year before being mailed to them? (If they fall within those bounds that the FLO keeps them).

A million and one things..as i'm sure you're aware of. You seem genuine and honest and not just out to make ..too much..of a profit,so your first task is to find your first 3 guests and hope they find something decent. After that it'll be word of mouth on here or to friends that'll get you more business.

As IP has stated,the organized detecting holidays can be very dubious indeed.Ebay sells a lot of Roman,Celtic and Saxon coins cheaply,and it doesn't take long to re-bury them!
Any American contemplating one of these trips will do well to remember this..and maybe give our friend here a chance. If you promote your holidays honestly and truthfully then i think you'll do better.

" The fields i offer have not been detected much,so i have no idea what may come out of them if anything during your stay.What i offer is a chance to spend a week (whatever) detecting as a Brit...meaning to go out and hope the gods are in a happy mood and you find something real nice!"

Something like that,add in that the history points to finds being VERY possible with a little work...and hope to God they are! lol.
Good luck.

 

[Iron Patch]

It also depends on where you are and what's in reasonable distance tourism wise? Are you willing to pick up/drop off at the airport/station? Willing to ferry them to and from tourist sites/sights?
Are you and/or your wife good cooks? Runny eggs and nuked bacon doesn't hack it! Are you prepared to do all the work and running about concerning finds liason officers/UKDFD site etc,and explaining that their finds have to stay here for 1 year before being mailed to them? (If they fall within those bounds that the FLO keeps them).

A million and one things..as i'm sure you're aware of. You seem genuine and honest and not just out to make ..too much..of a profit,so your first task is to find your first 3 guests and hope they find something decent. After that it'll be word of mouth on here or to friends that'll get you more business.

As IP has stated,the organized detecting holidays can be very dubious indeed.Ebay sells a lot of Roman,Celtic and Saxon coins cheaply,and it doesn't take long to re-bury them!
Any American contemplating one of these trips will do well to remember this..and maybe give our friend here a chance. If you promote your holidays honestly and truthfully then i think you'll do better.

" The fields i offer have not been detected much,so i have no idea what may come out of them if anything during your stay.What i offer is a chance to spend a week (whatever) detecting as a Brit...meaning to go out and hope the gods are in a happy mood and you find something real nice!"

Something like that,add in that the history points to finds being VERY possible with a little work...and hope to God they are! lol.
Good luck.

I'd rather hunt a 100% legit hunt and find nothing than find 5 gold coins if I could never be sure they weren't planted. The unfortunate thing for a business like this is if you stay on the up and up, once in a while you are going to have some disappointed customers.

 

[Blackadder43]

Thanks Dano Sverige, some good points.....


Iron Patch, you have made your point now, thank you for your input.
Hard as it is to believe not everyone in the world is bent and dishonest......

 

[47thelement]

Iron Patch, you have made your point now, thank you for your input.
Hard as it is to believe not everyone in the world is bent and dishonest......

I believe IP was just trying to have an open conversation with you. Your statement makes it appear as if you no longer want his opinion. If that is the case, I have an immediate distrust for you and have a hard time doing international business with you.

Just my opinion...

 

[Iron Patch]

Iron Patch, you have made your point now, thank you for your input.
Hard as it is to believe not everyone in the world is bent and dishonest......

I believe IP was just trying to have an open conversation with you. Your statement makes it appear as if you no longer want his opinion. If that is the case, I have an immediate distrust for you and have a hard time doing international business with you.

Just my opinion...

I guess he is already the detecting boss.

 

[Deepdiger60]

I have a question do the British laws apply to tourist as well MD,ing if anyone finds what is considered Treasure Trove items do you still have to turn them over to the Museum , and if not would there be a problem bringing them back here to the States not that i would expect to find the Midland Diamond .Dd60

 

[Iron Patch]

I have a question do the British laws apply to tourist as well MD,ing if anyone finds what is considered Treasure Trove items do you still have to turn them over to the Museum , and if not would there be a problem bringing them back here to the States not that i would expect to find the Midland Diamond .Dd60

I can answer that... The laws definitely apply and your finds have to be processed the same way. In fact, all the guys I know that have hunted Colchester have to wait weeks, if not months to finally get what they've found. On the positive side it's very uncommon for something to be declared treasure so chances are you'll get everything you find. For the people I have actually met in person that hunted there I know of two finds declared as treasure. One was a bronze age axe hoard, and at the time I believe one of the best to come to light, so it was obviously declared as treasure. The other I think was a rare Saxon strap end that looked like something just about everyone in America would throw to the trash. It was donated to a Museum which I would guess meant it avoided the process, but probably would have been treasure as well.

 

[Blackadder43]

I believe IP was just trying to have an open conversation with you. Your statement makes it appear as if you no longer want his opinion.

IP already expressed his fears in his first post and i tryed my best to give my thoughts and opinions on them in my second post.
What irked me a bit is even though i tryed addressing his fears he felt it necessary to mention them again in another post.
I am never going to be able to 100% prove my honesty to you through a forum, the only way were if one of you were to visit and experience it yourself.

The more i am looking into this though the more its getting complicated.
On the finds front thats relatively simple, after speaking with a finds liason officer there are forms and paperwork to fill out after each day, finds are bagged, photo's taken and sent to be recorded, as already mentioned.

Unless its a very rare find or a hoard its odds on the finder gets to keep the finds.
As again already mentioned unfortunately this can take some months.
I would do my best to get this done as quickly as possible.
"If" the detectorist decided to pocket a find and take it home bypassing the process then he/she would be liable to the problems of illegaly exporting finds, i have to get them to sign a form to that affect.

I cant and wont be dealing with large partys, its to much hassle and i dont have the room anyway, and i do not want to farm this out to other B&B's or guest houses.
So on a very small scale of 3 people its more personal.
I would be out with you taking pics and detecting aswell.
Making finds anywhere is not guaranteed but i would do my best with the research and have all this sent out to any potential customers, they can make their own minds up before deciding anything.

We dont have huge Roman activity where i live but we do have a few Roman forts scattered around and i am a few miles away from a Roman Silver and lead mine.
They had a few settlements scattered around and one with an small Amphitheatre.
We also have the Roman Baths within 30 miles of us....

We have plenty of Medieval history and all my area is mentioned in the Domesday Book.

I have an immediate distrust for you and have a hard time doing international business with you.

I am sorry to hear this but it is going to happen.
All i can say is i am trying to be as open and as honest as possible.

I guess he is already the detecting boss

Not in the slightest, although i have been detecting for 25 years i still on a daily basis learn something new or something becomes clear as to why it happens.

The main problem i seem to have to confront is the endless rules and regulations that our local councils impose on anyone in my area opening their house to others.
We are in a large tourist area (Somerset for those who wish to look it up) and the councils have rules and regulations for their rules and regulations.
This is by far the biggest hurdle to overcome.

As i have said its just an idea at the moment, i have a lot to weigh up.
What sparked my idea was when i saw how much other big detecting holiday companys charge.....their prices are extremely high for what is on offer, having said that one of the sites only has a few weeks left for this year so the market is obviously there.
I am never going to be a millionaire but all i want is to be comfy and get by, and a by product of this idea is i can also incorperate my hobby into my business.

I still welcome comments/critisms/negativity or positive stuff, but please lay off from the dishonesty angle, its not who i am and i am never going to be able to prove otherwise in the written word.
If you have doubts or dont trust me or any business like this then its better to not say anything at all.
I would hope to build my business on word of mouth and repeat customers, its in my interest to be as open and honest as i can about things.

thank you for reading this far.
Bruce

 

[shaun7]

Good luck Bruce

I know there's goodies in Somerset

 

[Blackadder43]

As a unique selling point and a token of what i am about i would probably invite the first 3 people over at my expense.
Obviously you would be responsible for the air fares and the cost of me picking you up from the airport, but my hospitality and the detecting would be on me.
This would be the best form of advertising i could wish for and would set the bar height, which i would have to keep up and improve on.

Dont hold your breath just yet though, i have a ton of hoops to jump through to make this happen and would not be ready until early next year.

 

[Iron Patch]

Good luck Bruce

I know there's goodies in Somerset

Shaun, will you take me there for free?

 

[shaun7]

Good luck Bruce

I know there's goodies in Somerset

Shaun, will you take me there for free?

Of course I would, if I had the land and a spare room.

Bit of a drive though

 

[Iron Patch]

Good luck Bruce

I know there's goodies in Somerset

Shaun, will you take me there for free?

Of course I would, if I had the land and a spare room.

Bit of a drive though

No, I would insist on paying you 500.00. GBP.

 

[shaun7]

Good luck Bruce

I know there's goodies in Somerset

Shaun, will you take me there for free?

Of course I would, if I had the land and a spare room.

Bit of a drive though

No, I would insist on paying you 500.00. GBP.

Oh..OK! You can have my side of the bed and I'll sleep in the garden.

Just don't spoil my missus

 

[Iron Patch]

Good luck Bruce

I know there's goodies in Somerset

Shaun, will you take me there for free?

Of course I would, if I had the land and a spare room.

Bit of a drive though

No, I would insist on paying you 500.00. GBP.

Oh..OK! You can have my side of the bed and I'll sleep in the garden.

Just don't spoil my missus

So I'll be finding cartwheels and she'll be doing them!

 

[shaun7]

Good luck Bruce

I know there's goodies in Somerset

Shaun, will you take me there for free?

Of course I would, if I had the land and a spare room.

Bit of a drive though

No, I would insist on paying you 500.00. GBP.

Oh..OK! You can have my side of the bed and I'll sleep in the garden.

Just don't spoil my missus

So I'll be finding cartwheels and she'll be doing them!

Well, I've seen her doing them trying to get away from me before

 

[Blackadder43]

No disrespect guys but my thread seems to have turned into a bit of a farce....
My experience of forums and threads is that when it goes off course with 1 sentence posts then people lose interest and never read right through.........
I think i have enough feedback from this forum so i will slink off now and knuckle down to making this happen.
If i ever get this off the ground i will come back and let anyone who may be interested know.

Thanks guys for the comments and ideas....
Hope to speak to you again.....