You’ve bought your new machine and the first thing you want to do is get out with it, but you don’t know where it’s legal and where you’ll find the best treasure. Most weekends around the UK and especially during the summer months metal detecting events are being hosted to allow detectorists on to hard to reach land and offer potential finds that people may not normally have access to.
Below are 4 top tips on how to get involved with an event/rally near you.
Locate your nearest metal detecting club
Around the UK there are hundreds of metal detecting clubs who host their own small events to bring detectorsits together and enjoy the hobby as a group. There are 3 ways to find your local metal detecting group:
Facebook search for your local area/council followed by ‘metal detecting’ and it should bring up your local group. Most Facebook pages are set up like groups where you’ll be required to join the group to access the information. Most groups are free to join but they ask that you have your NCMD (national council for metal detecting) insurance or something similar to detect with them.
Google your local council/area followed by metal detecting club and it will bring up any information and possible contacts for your local club
Head over to Joan Allen's Metal Detecting Club Guides where we’ve compiled a list of the UK’s detecting clubs and their contacts to help
Search for UK wide events
There are various flagship events that happen throughout the year which are a great chance to get to know other detectorists and spend time getting to know about different machines, technology and most importantly finding that all important treasure. Each event company has their own perks from amazing raffles to excerpt advice on site, A few of the top ones here in the UK are:
Rodney cook memorial rally - takes place early september and then day events in May. Weekend rally is in east wiltshire and is a very popular event. Event is a memorial to Rodney Cook and raises money for various cancer charities.
Detectival - Takes place around September on the Cambridge/Suffolk boarder with around 1000 acres of land. Tickets for the event cost around £87 for 2 days of detecting without the camping. To add camping to your ticket there are extra costs.
Joan Allen Events - Running various weekend events for the past 20 years around the Kent area Joan Allen Events. This runs on a Facebook group and once in the group you can gain access to event dates and locations. Our main event this year is the Minelab Heart of the Kent rally running over the August Bank Holiday weekend (26th-29th) with over 1000 acres, catering, high end camping toilets/showers and non detecting activities including axe throwing.
The event is headline sponsored by Minelab who will be on site for the whole event with their Minelab zone, with their very own Detexperts delivering talks/ demonstrations as well as test beds to try out any of their machines.
Metal detecting events are a great way to get out there, meet like minded people and make connections in the field. There’s always someone with a new machine or new technology looking to shout about the best way to do stuff so it’s a great way of improving your detecting skills. Joan Allen Events run both small and large rallies so if you’re looking for the next event just drop us a message!