Trusted by farms and estates across Southern England.

We are always interested in new permissions. Detecting land is a finite resource, even the richest fields are eventually exhausted from a detecting perspective, so fresh relationships with understanding landowners are genuinely valuable to us. If you own or manage land in the South East, we would welcome a conversation.

Why landowners work with us

Many of the farms, estates and private landowners who first welcomed us a decade or more ago still welcome us today. That continuity is the best measure of how we operate. Landowners stay with us because:

• We are a settled, named club, not a transient group of individuals.
• Every member is insured and bound by a national Code of Conduct.
• We pay for access in recognition of the privilege of being on your land.
• We are courteous, quiet, and respect working farms and shoots.
• We remove scrap iron, shotgun caps and other modern rubbish as we go, at no cost to you.
• We are transparent about anything significant we recover.

Paid access

We are happy to pay for access to suitable land. The exact figure varies with acreage, accessibility, ground conditions, and the historical potential of the location, and is something we would always agree privately with you in advance. We are pleased to discuss specifics on a one-to-one basis.

Respect for land and countryside

Many of our members live in the countryside or are deeply familiar with it. We understand crop rotations, lambing seasons, shoot days and the rhythms of a working farm. In practice that means:

• We only attend on dates and in fields you have approved.
• Gates are left exactly as we found them.
• Livestock and game are never disturbed.
• Every hole is cleanly cut, refilled and trodden flat, you will not see where we have been.
• No litter, no fires, no vehicles off agreed tracks.

Insurance and conduct

Every Midweek Searchers member is registered with the National Council for Metal Detecting (NCMD), which provides comprehensive £10 million public liability insurancefor every member on every dig. We are bound by the NCMD Code of Conduct and are happy to provide proof of insurance and a copy of the Code on request.

How we operate in the field

• Group sizes are managed, we never arrive in unannounced numbers.
• We brief every member on the boundaries, parking and any sensitive areas before a dig begins.
• We carry first aid, communicate clearly, and know exactly who is on the land.
• Digs take place from 9am to 4pm or 5pm depending on the time of year.
• If we find anything unusual or potentially significant, you are told before we leave the field.

Everyday finds

The vast majority of what we recover is everyday material, buttons, buckles, musket balls, low-value coins, scrap lead, and the inevitable shotgun caps. By long-standing convention and with your agreement, these everyday finds are kept by the detectorist who recovered them. This is normal practice across the hobby and is part of what makes detecting a sustainable pursuit.

Significant and valuable finds

Significant finds are treated very differently from everyday material, and this is where landowners are most often (understandably) cautious. Our position is straightforward:

• Single objects of real historical importance or clear value are reported to you immediately and handled jointly. Where a valuation is needed, we use recognised auction houses or qualified specialists rather than informal opinions, with proceeds shared with the landowner on terms agreed in advance (typically an even split).
• Hoards, groups of coins or objects clearly deposited together, are always recovered in full, reported to the FLO and, where the Treasure Act applies, handled through the coroner and Treasure Valuation Committee as described below.
• We will never sell, gift or remove a significant find without your full knowledge and agreement.

Treasure and the Treasure Act

A small number of finds meet the legal definition of Treasure under the Treasure Act 1996. These typically include gold and silver objects over 300 years old, prehistoric base-metal hoards, and groups of coins from the same find spot or scattered close by. Our process is the same every time:

1. Single items are recovered carefully in the normal way and recorded. Where a hoard or a group of associated objects is suspected, digging stops, the ground is left as undisturbed as possible, and the find is photographed in situ so an archaeologist can excavate the context properly.
2. You are informed before we leave the field.
3. The find is reported to the local Finds Liaison Officer and to the coroner within 14 days, as the Act requires.
4. A coroner's inquest determines whether the find qualifies as Treasure.
5. If a museum acquires it, an independent valuation is carried out by the Treasure Valuation Committee and a reward is paid. That reward is shared between finder and landowner on a 50:50 basis.

You retain full visibility throughout. The process is run by the authorities, not by us, and that independence is part of what makes it fair.

Agreements and permissions

In practice, we usually operate on a verbal agreement between the club and the landowner. Many of our long-standing permissions have run on a handshake for years and have never given either side cause for concern.

That said, we are very happy to put a clear written agreement in place at any time, covering access, paid access, treatment of finds, and the sharing arrangement for significant discoveries. Some landowners prefer to start verbal and formalise later; others prefer paper from day one. Either is fine, we will follow your preference.

Closing the loop

If desired, our landowners can request a follow-up email from our Administration Team, which includes photos of finds made on the search day, with annotation relating to the identification of the objects.

Existing landowner relationships

We are fortunate to work with a range of farms, private estates and country landowners across the South East. Out of respect for their privacy, we do not publish their names without consent.

References from existing landowners are available on request as part of any conversation about a new permission.

Request a conversation

If you would like to discuss your land, we would be delighted to come and meet you, walk the ground, and answer any questions in person. There is no obligation and nothing happens quickly, we would much rather take the time to get a relationship right.

Please write to the club Administration Team at admin@midweeksearchers.co.uk and we will be in touch to arrange a visit at your convenience.