Detecting
I have permission to Detect on 9 Farms across Lancashire but am always looking for new sites to Detect. I always endeavour to be methodical and tidy, respecting property and livestock. I would stress to all 'would be' detectorists that you must obtain permission before detecting on someones land. For my part I DO NOT share the location of any site I detect with any other Detectorist unless I have gained permission from the Landowner.

For the benefit of detectorists new to the hobby and Farmers and Landowners who are kind enough to allow me to detect on their land I've noted below my method of Detecting in Fields and open land. Each Detectorist will have their preferred method of working, this is mine.
 
  Prior to Detecting any land I like to do a bit of research. What I'm looking for is general history of the area, if the landscape has changed much (e.g. River courses change over time) and if there were any buildings on the site that are no longer there. I then have a rough plan in my head of what I MAY find. Once on site I have a look round to select potentially good areas to start. These could be entrances to the field, sites where buildings used to stand, river crossings which no longer exist. These are all potential sites where items could have been dropped or deposited over time.
     
 
  As tempting as it is just to wander from one potentially 'good spot' to another I try to work in a grid pattern, using landmarks to keep myself in a straight line .... not easy when you're looking down most of the time! Working this way makes it easier for me in the long run to known which areas I've covered. Once I've located a potential 'find' I dig out a Divot as small as possible but that covers the range of the signal. I try to make the cut neat as it's easier to replace it afterwards.
     
 
  With a pinpoint probe I locate the item that's giving off the signal. Any earth I need to sieve through I put back into the hole rather than just chucking it about! In this case it was a horseshoe, not particularly exciting but a 'find' is a 'find! I ALWAYS remove the items I find from the site even if they are ring pulls and tin cans! This is not just a courtesy to the land owner it also saves me wasting time finding them again!
     
 
  After the 'find' has been removed I backfill the hole and replace the Divot, making sure I compact the ground properly. Once I'm home I clean the finds carefully as what may look like a dirty bit of scrap metal could be a hammered coin, I know as it's happened to me. I then look up the items in my 'finds', 'coins' and research books. If it's difficult to identify I also look at similar images on the internet. Finally IF the item is of interest I will report it to my local P.A.S. Finds Liaison Officer. Our Officer for Lancashire and Cumbria works out of the Lancashire Museum in Preston and has been very helpful.