Detectorist trailblazing Glachbeg Croft Centre session on Black Isle prompts wider appeal to Highland landowners
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HIGHLAND landowners willing to help detectorists indulge their passion could also be handing a welcome boost to charity.
The appeal was made in the wake of a successful session on the Black Isle which turned up some fascinating finds dating back over 200 years and brought a charity fundraising total to £4200.
North Detectorists were delighted to get the go-ahead from David Spooner of Glachbeg Croft Centre to have a root around in return for a donation to the MFR Cash For Kids appeal.
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“These digs are so important in many ways to help with people’s mental health and to give to different charities it would be a tragedy if we had to stop. Landowners can also nominate a charity that is close to them. We need locations to carry on helping charities."
- George Macdonald
Mr Spooner, who recently took over the education centre offering hands-on experience and training for adults with additional needs, explained: “The detectorists came to Glachbeg and raised a remarkable £1200 for Cash For Kids. After a quiet start it ended up with a number of interesting finds being unearthed.
“To a layman like me it looked like a fascinating mixture of items valuable because of their human interest – a little lead toy soldier caught my eye! – as well as items valuable because of their inherent worth; such as silver artefacts, including a really well-preserved 200-year-old half-crown. I’m pleased that Glachbeg was able to host the club and a good day out for everyone and I’m delighted that every attendee was respectful to our land and animals. I hope there’ll be plenty more farms and landowners able to offer this opportunity to George [Macdonald] and the detectorists in the future.”
George Macdonald of North Detectorists said its efforts had raised a total of £4200 for charity to date.
He explained: “It was a fantastic day out and the hospitality we received from David at Glachbeg was excellent. It was a quiet morning then things picked up. The finds are a bonus really, it’s mainly a social day out to chat and meet people and I personally find it really helpful for my mental health as do other detectorists, being out on a field chatting to people you probably wouldn’t meet in normal life.”
The group is open to any detectorist and can be found on Facebook at North Detectorists. It has over 650 members.
“I’ve basically no more land at this time to carry on doing charity digs and would be a real shame for the charities to miss out. It’s getting really difficult as the hobby has grown massively in this area.”
Other charities which have benefited from donations include Highland Hospice, the Turkish earthquake relief fund and Day 1 mentoring.
Group members are covered by insurance and registered with the NCMD which is the governing body. It abides by treasure trove guidelines concerning any finds of historical interest.
Dug up during the weekend dig was an Arabic silver 5 kurus coin from the Ottoman Empire reign of Sultan Mahmud II. He was sultan from 1808 until his death in 1839.
Mr Macdonald said: “How did that end up in a field in the Black Isle? Was it for trade or did someone come back from soldiering duties?”
Also retrieved was a lead toy camel. Mr Macdonald said: “Are they connected? We will never know, we can only surmise.”
Detectorists also found a beautiful George 4th half crown dated to 1821.
Mr Macdonald said: “These digs are so important in many ways to help with people’s mental health and to give to different charities it would be a tragedy if we had to stop. Landowners can also nominate a charity that is close to them. We need locations to carry on helping charities. Any reader who has land and is interested in helping us continue doing the digs for charities can contact me on george.mac233@btinternet.com”
