how can I say this without offending anyone ?

[Tom_in_CA]

Strike-it-rich, your question is all over the board, and hard to pin down, especially because you're looking at it through the eyes of UK laws, while most forumites here are in the USA. However, based on this opening remark, you do seem to be couching your question in terms of USA posts you've seen:

"Reading though a lot of the posts it seems to me that because in a lot of peoples eyes public means just that open public ownership or at least the use of the land is assumed fit for public use"

One would assume your referring to some of the past posts about USA parks, schools, greens, sidewalk strips, public beaches, etc.... You then go on to say that detecting these areas....."should always be with the permission of the public body controlling or charged with the role of governing the piece of so called public land " Like I say, maybe from a UK perspective, so what I'm about to say now, will be from my perspective of a USA person:

I'm ok with that, so long as all other public usages also first be required to get permission: throw frisbees (afterall, you could poke someone's eye out!), walk on the grass (afterall, how do you know it wasn't just re-seeded??), use the swing set (afterall, there may be a weight limit!), etc... etc....

Or, just take Utah-hunters approach. He is very clear in his example that he uses the "if it's not specifically disallowed, then it is not illegal". Notice, in his example, he didn't ask "permission" ahead of time (as if ... there were somehow something inherenty wrong or evil, that he'd have had to ask to begin with).

Once again, this is from a USA perspective. Not sure of the UK laws.

 

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[utah hunter]

I should have mentioned that I check signs first to make sure metal detecting is not allowed. I have not run into even 1 park in Utah(state parks not included) that was off limits. I have had nice conversations with park caretakers, and they can be a wealth of information as to the best places to look.

There is a strong feeling in the US for individual rights, as you will see evident all over tnet if you look. We feel that patriot's blood was spilled for the rights we have, and the duty to stand up for what we feel is right. We also believe we should follow the laws, and if we don't agree with them to try and change them. We also feel the duty to help others protect their rights, that is why the UK isn't German speaking today. I am not getting political and won't tell my feelings on the wars today, just making a point.

I read on tnet about countries that don't allow metal detecting at all, even on private property, and that is extremely sad in my book.

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

The hobby does not start or end at where and what public lands you can or cannot hunt. It starts with what example and impression is being left by the people doing the hunting. It is obvious that public does not necessarily mean you can go to a piece of land and hunt it. As a tax payer and resident of the state I live in, I feel as entitled to enjoy my past time just as much as the people walking their dogs unleashed, the people drinking and dropping corona caps everywhere, are allowed to enjoy their time at a public park. After all, we too are part of the public.

 

[BuckleBoy]

We also feel the duty to help others protect their rights, that is why the UK isn't German speaking today.

Well...the attack on Pearl Harbor certainly "helped" us feel a duty to defeat Hitler...

-Buckleboy

 

[utah hunter]

We also feel the duty to help others protect their rights, that is why the UK isn't German speaking today.

Well...the attack on Pearl Harbor certainly "helped" us feel a duty to defeat Hitler...

-Buckleboy

It helped just a little . If the Japanese wouldn't have attacked it would have made the decision take a little longer. We were going anyway, it is too bad we waited so long to get into the war.

My Grandpa was a WW2 veteran, and he instilled a lot of patriotism in me. He owned a rock shop in Central Utah so I would spend a week at a time heading out in the hills with him. When he would try to take me to a neat spot in the middle of nowhere only to find the BLM had blocked access and destroyed roads he instilled in me how my freedoms can be trampled by those we don't know. They are constantly trying to block access to public land by creating wilderness here, and it really sucks. They block roads and limit activities on huge plots of land to protect it. Protect it from the few people who go there and find beauty, and also rocks and things that we enjoy working with. A large spot right now is desert and is rarely visited, environmentalists can be much worse than archies in my OPINION which may get me in trouble. I won't even mention a certain President that made a huge tract of land in Utah the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. 1.9 million acres where my Grandpa had his uranium mines and incredible places to go now off limits to prospecting and many roads shut down to protect the land from us horrible humans. That President was so gutless he went to the Grand Canyon to announce the Park and didn't set foot in Utah and has never even seen the land or the people he affected. He took away income from small claims eked out by those who put their blood sweat and tears into their finds find and the minimal amount of effect they had on the land.

Sorry about the rant, once I started I couldn't stop.

 

[strike it rich]

going off subject slighty we over here in the Uk have always felt the link as brothers in arms to the Usa not too sure why America entered WWW I. To me it seems like we spent our empire coming to the aid of others. America has a proud tradition to bear arms try that here and you'll feel the long arm of the law

 

[utah hunter]

going off subject slighty we over here in the Uk have always felt the link as brothers in arms to the Usa not too sure why America entered WWW I. To me it seems like we spent our empire coming to the aid of others. America has a proud tradition to bear arms try that here and you'll feel the long arm of the law

I almost brought up the subject of gun control earlier but didn't. Since you did that is one right we have that will never be taken away, it has been tried by politicians but the uproar is pretty great when they do. Even if I think a gun law makes some sense, the idea that once you give up part of your rights more will soon follow is also a strong belief by many over here. I personally own several guns that are outlawed in the UK. We love to target shoot as part of our family recreation and are responsible gun owners. I had the chance as a teenager to take a foreign exchange student from Japan target shooting. At first he didn't want to touch a pistol, but soon he was shooting targets and enjoying himself. He was surprised at how much fun recreational shooting is, it is a great hobby. Hopefully I never have to use a weapon against someone else, but I will know how to defend my family if I need to. Hunting is also a big time hobby in Utah. Many people here use deer and elk meet to feed their family meat during the winter, it is not just about killing. Luckily we have a huge amount of space to allow safe hunting. My brother and his 14 year old daughter each shot a deer a few weeks ago, and they are so happy to have the meat for the winter. Just my OPINION on things(why do I keep saying that?)

 

[strike it rich]

going off subject slighty we over here in the UK have always felt the link as brothers in arms to the Usa not too sure why America entered WWW I. To me it seems like we spent our empire coming to the aid of others. America has a proud tradition to bear arms try that here and you'll feel the long arm of the law

I almost brought up the subject of gun control earlier but didn't. Since you did that is one right we have that will never be taken away, it has been tried by politicians but the uproar is pretty great when they do. Even if I think a gun law makes some sense, the idea that once you give up part of your rights more will soon follow is also a strong belief by many over here. I personally own several guns that are outlawed in the UK. We love to target shoot as part of our family recreation and are responsible gun owners. I had the chance as a teenager to take a foreign exchange student from Japan target shooting. At first he didn't want to touch a pistol, but soon he was shooting targets and enjoying himself. He was surprised at how much fun recreational shooting is, it is a great hobby. Hopefully I never have to use a weapon against someone else, but I will know how to defend my family if I need to. Hunting is also a big time hobby in Utah. Many people here use deer and elk meet to feed their family meat during the winter, it is not just about killing. Luckily we have a huge amount of space to allow safe hunting. My brother and his 14 year old daughter each shot a deer a few weeks ago, and they are so happy to have the meat for the winter. Just my OPINION on things(why do I keep saying that?)

I don't blame you for sticking to your rights here we are living in a politically correct nanny state fly your own flag here on staint Georges day and someone will complain.