Do you think it's the growth of the hobby? Farm fields are more in demand than ever, so both sides are catching on to the benefits of money for detecting rights.
I am amazed how many people tell me they started detecting after seeing "the Detectorists" and while this should have been nothing more than an enjoyable and popular television show, is it possible that the programme has pushed our numbers up and put added pressure on clubs and individuals to get land?
As much as I love the hobby, and for all the joy it gives me, the fact is I would never have even thought about metal detecting until I saw that show, like many many others. And thanks to this lap top I am writing on now, and the modern world wide web, everything I needed to know was minutes away at my fingertips. Is my generation of newbies a big part of the problem?