Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Accidental Detectorist

  • Uncovering an Underground Obsession
  • By: Nigel Richardson
  • Narrated by: Patrick Warner
  • Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (64 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Accidental Detectorist cover art

The Accidental Detectorist

By: Nigel Richardson
Narrated by: Patrick Warner
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Full English cover art
Bibliomaniac cover art
One Man and His Bike cover art
How We Fish cover art
The Farmer's Wife cover art
Bothy Tales cover art
Walking the Great North Line cover art
Ancestors cover art
Buried cover art
Ring the Hill cover art
Next to Nature cover art
The Road cover art
Liquid Gold cover art
Help the Witch cover art
The Backyard Adventurer cover art
Walking the Invisible cover art

Summary

When a travel writer is stuck on home soil in the middle of a pandemic, he meets Kris Rodgers, one of Britain's eminent metal detectorists. Dipping a toe in the hobby, Nigel quickly finds himself swept up in the world beneath the surface. Above the ground are a cast of fascinating and passionate people who open Nigel's eyes to a subterranean world of treasure and stories that bring the history of the island to life.

Scouring the country from Cornwall to Scotland in search of treasure and the best detectorists, Nigel finds himself more immersed in the culture than he bargained for and makes his own personal journey from cynicism to obsession in his trail through the heartlands of metal detecting. From women's groups who react against the hobby's male bias, to the 'Nighthawks' who risk jail-time in their pursuits, he finds his preconceptions disabused and gets to the heart of what makes this quiet community so obsessed with happy beeps.

©2022 Nigel Richardson (P)2022 Octopus Publishing Group

More from the same

What listeners say about The Accidental Detectorist

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    56
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    53
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    51
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A familiar and pleasant book

Thoroughly enjoyed this journey together with the excellent narration. Having also taken up metal detecting in Spain (I am a British expat) around the start of the Covid pandemic I could relate to pretty much the entire story.


During my learning process, I often watched Youtube videos in order to get a grasp of the hobby, the frequent references to 'Digger Dawn' and the TV series 'The Detectorists' were very welcome to me and very familiar.


Great listen, story and narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful warm visit into metal detectoring.

Throughly enjoyed dipping in and out of this humours all telling story of a mans joirney from Lockdown to the world of metal detecting. I too have tried this but a series of ill health matters has kerbed my abilities….for now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Honest & Useful Insight Into Metal Detecting

As a middle aged man looking for a hobby to get me away from my desk at home, the post pandemic world we now live in, this was the ideal story to give me that push I need. I wonder how many people have watched “Detectorists” and thought I wouldn’t mind a go at that. Well this book is an honest account of one persons journey into this world. I enjoyed it and am now saving for my first metal detector. Bring on the hammered!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • S
  • 19-02-24

excellent, but too short

excellent, but not long enough, more information is needed please. thank you enough words now?!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Inspirational listen

After an accidental purchase of “muddlarking”, and subsequent 3 x listen I felt envious of those fortunate enough to be close to them Thames… I live in the darks of Cornwall..then this treasure of a book was recommended! I have already listen twice and still feel I haven’t absorbed all the wisdom contained within it. This book has been written with intelligence, looking at both sides of argument around historical finds and how they are discovered. I truly appreciate the trouble the author had gone to speak with each stakeholder involved in the ‘conflict’. Now when I go sea glass collecting with my 2 & 6 yo boys, I can tell why some of those red stones have corners have right angles.

But what I took from this book mainly is it’s about finding our place in the world, feeling connected within that space and most importantly connecting with others. I feel really feel not just for myself but for society as a-whole that isolation is at an epidemic point and only increasing One day, IF the pennies ever add up, I hope to have the pleasure of joining you on the beach or field

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining engaging and informative

Well read humouress and thought provoking in equal measures. Life's meanings could just be a few inches under the we tread.... At least for some.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

I really enjoyed the book, very interesting. Now I definitely need to get a metal detector! 😀

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A thoroughly good listen

Funny and informative. As an amateur detectorist myself I enjoyed listening to Nigel’s journey. I could identify with some of his frustrations and picked up a few tips as well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting book and excellent narration

First I'd like to congratulate Patrick Warner, the narrator, for his excellent performance of this text - it could so easily have sounded a bit 'dry' in less adept hands, but he has done a great job in keeping it lively and engaging. I shall be seeking out other books that he has narrated.
Thanks also to the author, Nigel Richardson - I knew very little about detectorists (apart from the TV series) and now I have a good understanding of what it feels like for an amateur to go in search of antiquities in this way. His writing is often quite poetic and his writing style surely demonstrates why he is a renowned journalist and travel writer - I will also seek out more of his work. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lovely!!

Really enjoyed this audiobook. Have considered taming up metal detecting myself before and this has nudged me closer to it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!