July 22nd, 2020 by Sarah Miles

Who doesn’t love a treasure hunt? After all these weeks of lockdown, you may well have exhausted all your best ideas for keeping the kids entertained and with the school summer holidays fast approaching, you won’t even have homeschooling to fill their time with so you need new ideas fast. Well, we have a great one that you may not have considered before and it fits in perfectly with lockdown guidelines: metal detecting!

Metal detecting has it all: it’s cheap to get into, it’s an outdoor activity, it can be really exciting, it combines fun with physical activity, and it can be a regular pastime. With beginner metal detecting kits starting at less than £40 (equivalent to entry for one person to a theme park for the day!), this could be the cheapest hobby you’ve ever taken up!

You may think that metal detecting is the reserve of history geeks (and it is great for history lovers) but it can also be quite lucrative in terms of unearthing coins and even jewellery. However, any detectorist will tell you that the greatest joy of detecting is the search itself, and kids can really get into that.

Here are our top 5 tips for beginner metal detectorists!

1. Choose your locations wisely

Parks, fields, woods, and beaches can all make great metal detecting locations and you could find some wonderful items in any of these locations. However, your chances of finding really interesting objects improve with a little research first. Areas with links to historical settings can be good for potentially unearthing Roman coins, Viking artefacts or even objects from our more recent industrial past. If you’re looking for more contemporary finds, choose areas with high foot traffic as these can be hotspots for lost coins, watches, or trinkets. Just remember to seek permission if you plan to hunt on private land (plus, anything you find, legally belongs to the landowner).

2. Create a ‘hunt kit’

Other than the metal detector itself, you need very little specialist equipment for this hobby but there are a few essentials that you should always take to get the best from your hunts. This includes headphones, a spade or trowel, and spare batteries. It’s also a good idea to take a bag for your finds, some gloves and practical things like sun cream, a hat, water, and maybe a packed lunch if you plan to make a day of it. Beginner kits, such as this one from MYLEK, include a spade and headphones already so this is a great buy.

3. Do your bit for the environment

While you’re out detecting, you will invariably discover items that are little more than rubbish (remember, the thrill of detecting comes from finding something interesting in amongst the many less interesting objects!). Don’t leave them in the ground; keep all the rubbish in a separate bag and dispose of it responsibly. Why not go a step further and combine a treasure hunt with a litter pick as well? This can be something that others in your group can do while one person is in charge of the metal detector. You can even make it competitive; seeing who can collect the most rubbish! This way, everyone is engaged in something plus you’ll have done a really good thing for the community. Litter pickers are cheap to buy and make collecting the rubbish easier and safer. Add them to your hunt kit.

4. Be methodical

You will get the best results if you hone your detecting technique. Don’t go too fast and proceed in a straight line. When you get to the edge of the area you are searching, turn around and take a half step to the side and set off back, parallel to the line you have just walked. Swing the detector in an arc so that you overlap the area you have just searched. Doing this minimises the risk of missing anything. If you do find something of interest, focus your efforts around the immediate area as there may well be additional items very close by.

5. Keep discrimination levels low

The discrimination level refers to the sensitivity of the detector and the type of metal it will notify you of. Setting your discrimination level low will result in your device alerting you to every bit of foil and aluminium can, however, it could also pinpoint really great find such as Celtic or Roman coins, which tend to be small and thin (and therefore would go unnoticed at a higher discrimination level) and have high nickel content. Plus, children will tend to lose interest if you go for long periods without finding anything at all. Why not create a guessing game every time the metal detector alerts you to a new find – treasure or trash?

For a very small outlay, a metal detector could be the start of a new obsession or maybe just a fun activity for this very strange summer of 2020. Either way, it’s a fantastic family hobby that gets you out into the great outdoors and complies with all lockdown guidelines.

MYLEK XP PLUS All-Terrain Metal Detector Kit

Price: £74.99

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