I have had a metal detector of one sort or another for 24 years. I usually take it on holidays with me and dig up the local beaches. My finds have included a "William and Mary" coin which I promptly lost again and a little toothpaste tin...hidden somewhere around the house.
I am discovering that just holding the detector these days makes my arm ache after half an hour or so but I have always harboured a desire to take it more seriously and join a club. I happened to read a success story recently in the local paper of a man finding some rare coins and at the end of it were the details of the "Rhondda Artefacts and Research Enthusiasts" (quite a mouthful) a metal detecting club ...where they meet and the dates. That's how I found myself in the Ferndale Rugby Club last night....they have altered the roads to Ferndale, I got completely lost and nearly ended up in Treorchy...anyway....I was amazed to find the room (Stanley Baker's Room, there was even a shield from the film Zulu above the bar, it was his local apparently) absolutely full of metal detecting enthusiasts.
I learned more in 5 mins about my metal detector including how to make it a lot lighter and easier to handle than I have known for the last couple of years. I was encouraged and welcomed to attend a meeting a week Sunday in the Brecon Beacons. This is it...I feel a find coming on at last....I can't wait!