Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all,
Just wanted to mention that if anyone is looking for a solitary feelgood hobby then I can highly recommend metal detecting. I bought a metal detector this week and this morning at 06:00 went down to the beach where I live to give it a go. There was nobody about at all at that time so I had the beach, the sunrise, the wildlife, and the peace and quiet all to myself which felt amazing. As far as finding treasure goes...well...let's put it this way, if beer bottle caps were valuable I'd be retiring this week. Can't win them all.
Sounds an exciting hobby. I've not done metal detection before but I did used to go to the beaches to find fossils and sea things. I used to love going to Lyme Regis for that reason.
I lived in Dorset for 10 years and Lyme Regis was one of my regular places to visit. Something very satisfying about finding a fossil isn't there. My favourites were the pyritised ammonites, but my best find was a set of 7 Ichthyosaur tail vertebrae that had fused together. One of the local fossil shops identified it for me. I was a bit strapped for cash at the time and sold it for about £20 on eBay but wish I'd kept it now. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the number of people that swarm onto the beach at low tide hunting for fossils. I tended to go in the winter months and as early in the morning as the winter sunrise and tide patterns would permit to avoid the crowds.