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Lancashire · beach metal detecting rules

Can you metal detect on Lancaster beaches?

Allowed

Detecting is allowed on most council-owned land with no permit, provided the national Code of Practice is followed; the council says beaches are fine. The page does not say which stretches of beach the council actually owns, and Morecambe Bay is an SSSI.

Covers
Morecambe Bay south shore: Silverdale, Bolton-le-Sands, Hest Bank, Morecambe, Heysham, Middleton Sands, Lune estuary
Permission
No permit required. Questions: publicrealm@lancaster.gov.uk
Watch out for
Banned between Lancaster Castle and the quayside (Vicarage Field, Priory Meadows, Quay Meadows). No digging in parks or mown grass areas such as football pitches.
What the source says
"Beaches and shrub land are fine. ... A permit is not required for metal detecting, but there is a requirement to adhere to the code of conduct mentioned above."
Source
www.lancaster.gov.uk/parks-and-open-spaces/metal-detecting · 2025-01-30
Checked
8 Nov 2026
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