Free Gold - How to Find Your Own in the UK

[LawrenceChard]

Interesting news story today:

Gold panner ordered to pay £3,000 in first case of its kind
Brian Wright says he has been denied 'freedoms of the forest' after being found guilty of three offences relating to gold panning in Wales

By
Olivia Rudgard,
 ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT
26 May 2022 • 10:06pm

A gold panner has been prosecuted in the first case of its kind as he claimed he had been denied the "freedoms of the forest".

Brian Wright, 65, of Henley-on-Thames, was ordered by a court to pay £3,000 for using the ancient technique in the Afon Wen, Snowdonia, last summer.

He was found guilty of three offences of digging up or removing gravel, sands or minerals and operating a metal detector on the land of the forestry authority, after two officials from Natural Resources Wales filmed him panning for gold in the river.

But he warned that the practice could be driven "underground" by prosecutions, leading local panners to go to more secluded spots that might be more harmful to wildlife.

Mr Wright argued in court that the forestry bylaws he was prosecuted under did not apply in the river and that the regulations had been misinterpreted by the environmental authority.

He said gold panning was "part of the cultural heritage" of Wales. Welsh gold is highly prized and has been used widely, including by the Royal family in wedding rings and coronets. 

Speaking after the case, Mr Wright, a former rights-of-way officer at local councils, said: "All our freedoms are being removed. The freedoms of the forest - they even stop local people from gathering firewood - if they catch them.

"They're picking on me as an example, because they know all the other gold panners know me. Now they've got this - I've done them a favour because they might be able to go after other people on this basis."

The largest piece of gold ever found by Mr Wright is five grams, smaller than a five pence piece. He hoped to donate gold found in the river to be used in a coronet for the next Prince of Wales.

Natural Resources Wales says that gold panning, which involves digging up gravel on the river bed with a trowel and looking for flecks of gold, has damaged salmon spawning beds in the river.

But local panners say other sources of pollution from agriculture and forestry have left the river devoid of life anyway - and that panning has a negligible effect.

"They know that we know that we are not the polluters. It's the forestry which over the long term has destroyed the natural habitat," Mr Wright said after the case.

He was ordered to pay a fine of £600 and costs of £2,400. NRW had sought costs of £9,550.

Dylan Williams, NRW operations manager for the North West, said: "The location where Mr Wright was caught gold panning is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation indicating its high conservation value and susceptibility to any damaging activities

"Illegal gold panning has the potential to adversely impact the river ecosystem. The process of digging up of the riverbed and bank can result in direct damage to plants or invertebrates and fish spawning grounds can be damaged. The flow of the river can also be altered."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/26/gold-panner-ordered-pay-3000-first-case-kind/

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[RDHC]

Perhaps he made the mistake of telling the authorities his real name. Mine is Genghis Khan - or sometimes Albert Einstein. It never fails.

[scarecrow]

He's absolutely correct when he says our freedoms are being removed.

[Bigmarc]

Freedom of the forest is a bit of a broad statement. I think it wasn't intended for the land to be miss used, otherwise there would be no trees left. I think it's ok to do this in Scotland and Dartmoor because there is f*ck all there.

[scarecrow]

3 hours ago, Bigmarc said:

Freedom of the forest is a bit of a broad statement. I think it wasn't intended for the land to be miss used, otherwise there would be no trees left. I think it's ok to do this in Scotland and Dartmoor because there is f*ck all there.

That's a bit of a broad statement from yourself. Agreed there are huge tracts of wilderness, but there's also plenty of forested areas etc etc.

 

[Roy]

Considering the damage the 4x4 boys, the rally teams, the enduro riders and the New Age travellers cause in the forests, I'd say this gold panner has made very little impact to the natural habitat.

[Bigmarc]

6 hours ago, Roy said:

I'd say this gold panner has made very little impact to the natural habitat.

Perhaps they need to create licences like fishermen have to get. They are governed by seasons because of fish breeding. 

 

7 hours ago, scarecrow said:

That's a bit of a broad statement from yourself. Agreed there are huge tracts of wilderness, but there's also plenty of forested areas etc etc

Yeah point taken, I ment it as tongue and cheek as I use to like a bit of wild camping which is allowed on Dartmoor and in Scotland (I think). After doing Dartmoor a few times I just assumed it was allowed because there was nothing there. 

[AuricGoldfinger]

“Freedom of the forest”

Just means you can take a dump under a tree if duty calls. Not sure about gold panning.

Shame for the bloke though, don’t see him doing any harm unless he was using mercury like the old timers!

[dicker]

10 hours ago, Roy said:

Considering the damage the 4x4 boys, the rally teams, the enduro riders and the New Age travellers cause in the forests, I'd say this gold panner has made very little impact to the natural habitat.

I could not agree more.

I take a very very dim view of (what are essentially) state employees wasting time on surveilling a lone chap with a pan in a river.  

Don’t they have jobs to do, like planting trees?

Note: Some members of the “Unofficial Caravan Club of Great Britain” visit forests in early December to unofficially “harvest” Christmas trees that they they sell on lay-bys.  You will note that the chaps who apprehended the gold panner wouldn’t go near the delightful travelling folk.

[LawrenceChard]

8 hours ago, AuricGoldfinger said:

“Freedom of the forest”

Just means you can take a dump under a tree if duty calls. Not sure about gold panning.

Shame for the bloke though, don’t see him doing any harm unless he was using mercury like the old timers!

There are right and wrong ways to do most things:

How to terrible in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art by Kathleen Meyer 

How to s**t in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art by Kathleen Meyer

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It's a shame we feel the need to censor good old Anglo Saxon

OK, then, defecate (it's OK to use Latin, thank goodness).

Edited May 28, 2022 by LawrenceChard

[jackflash123]

In the interests of keeping this story going… And because it contains a thread related to panning for gold, I would like to add my following thoughts…

The prosecution against this gold panner is absolutely ludicrous of course, and I’d be genuinely shocked if anyone disagreed with that. And I don’t think that the requirement of a licence to go gold panning is a good idea, we’re just encouraging the authorities to limit our freedoms in every way they can imagine.

According to the history books, back in the days of Robin Hood, the starving people were not allowed to hunt deers in the forests because they all belonged to the crown. I suppose they were expected to pop to their local supermarket to feed their families.

Then and now, there’s always someone who tries to impose their will upon others. Will things never change? Sadly it seems not. I for one am ashamed that we’ve allowed our rulers and governors to impose such sanctions upon us, they’ll be introducing a licence to ride a bicycle next.

And the judge that actually enforced this prosecution should’ve thrown this ridiculous matter out of court, what a complete and utter waste of tax payers time and money. Hang your head in shame judge!

Edited August 2, 2022 by jackflash123
Introduction Added After the Fact

[Arganto]

The conniving cowards filmed him, likely from a distance. Pansy arsed do nothing turds, I bet they suck their thumbs and have their mummies chew the more difficult morsels at dinner for them.

Cnuts.