the equipment

Your main piece of equipment will, of course, be your metal detector. There are a huge number of detectors on the market ranging from extremely basic models, through to brands costing thousands of pounds and requiring sophisticated knowledge to operate. At Discover Detecting, we recognise that throwing people in at the deep end with a high-end detector would be counter-productive. Similarly giving our would-be detectorists a dirt cheap machine (forgive the pun) would also be a poor choice.

The machine you will be using will be a Garrett 200i, one of the premier brands in the world of detecting. It is a superb entry-level machine that won't require any experience to use. Countless fantastic finds and hoards have been unearthed using these machines and they are often the "go to" for the rookie detectorist. Full instructions on using your detector will be given to you on the day.

You will also be given a pinpointer, a small carrot-shaped, hand-held detector which helps you to "pinpoint" the exact location of your find. We will demonstrate how to use this.

You will have the use of your own spade - and a small trowel to help you winkle out the object from the hole, if it is not immediately apparent.

You will also have a finds pouch in which to place your finds. It is the convention in metal detecting that any object you find MUST be removed from the field (yes, even a pesky ring pull or horseshoe), although we will provide 'scrap buckets' around the field in which to deposit trash to save you carrying it around. Lastly you will also have a small finds box which is useful to squirrel away small delicate objects to protect them from being damaged. 

The only items we recommend you bring with you on the day is:

* suitable clothing (keep your eye on the weather forecast)

* suitable footwear (sturdy boots or wellingtons - you will do a lot of walking!)

* gardening gloves/knee pads

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