UK gold prospecting guides
Where to find gold in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the laws and permits, how to pan, metal detecting and the history — 37 free guides, all in one place.
Want to learn in person? Two-day gold panning trips in Scotland →Where to find gold in the UK
Gold-Bearing Rivers UK: 93 Rivers Listed by Country (2026)Yes, there is gold in UK rivers. 93 gold-bearing rivers, burns and streams in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, with gold type and evidence for each.
Best Gold Panning Locations UK: Top 10 Ranked + Map (2026)The 10 best gold panning locations in the UK, ranked - Kildonan, Wanlockhead, Tyndrum, the Mawddach and more, with permits, prices and the legal way in.
Where to Pan for Gold in the UK: Best Spots & Map (2026)Where to pan for gold in the UK: Wanlockhead, Kildonan and Tyndrum in Scotland, the Dolgellau belt, Cornwall and the Sperrins, plus permits, law and a free map.
Can You Find Gold in the UK? Yes — Here's the Proof (2026)Yes — gold is still found in UK rivers. The proof: the 1868–69 Kildonan rush, Wales's Clogau mine and the 121.3 g Reunion Nugget (2019), plus where to pan legally.
Where to Find Real UK Gold — 10 Verified Spots, GPS Coordinates FreeFree 19-page Beginner's Pack: 10 BGS-verified UK gold locations with GPS coordinates, access notes and permit details. Delivered to your inbox instantly.
Scotland
Gold Panning Scotland: 5 Best Goldfields, Map & Permits 2026Where to pan for gold in Scotland: Kildonan, Wanlockhead, Tyndrum, Glen Shira and the Ochils - mapped, with permits, the law, geology and what you'll actually find.
Gold in Scotland: The Gold Belts, Mines & Cononish (2026)Yes, there is gold in Scotland. Its gold belts from Sutherland to the Southern Uplands, the historic Leadhills workings, and Cononish, Scotland's working gold mine.
Gold Panning at Wanlockhead & Leadhills: The Complete 2026 GuideHow to pan for gold at Wanlockhead and Leadhills — Scotland's richest gold-bearing region. Permits, the Museum of Lead Mining, where to find gold, and what you'll realistically find.
Gold Panning at Tyndrum: Permits, Map & 2026 GuideHow to pan for gold at Tyndrum and Strathfillan — the Community Woodland permit scheme, the Cononish gold mine, where the gold is on the map, and what you'll realistically find.
Gold Panning at Kildonan & Helmsdale: Where & How (2026)Yes, you can still pan gold at Kildonan near Helmsdale on a Suisgill Estate permit. Where Baile an Or is, the permit, the season, the law and what you'll find.
England
Gold Panning in England: Where You Can Pan + Free MapGold panning in England: exactly where you can legally pan, how to get landowner access, what kit you need and realistic finds — plus the live UK gold map.
Where to Find Gold in England: The 2026 Regional GuideWhere to pan for gold in England — Lake District, Devon, Cornwall and the North Pennines. Geology, history, legality and what you'll realistically find.
Is There Gold in Cornwall? Where to Find Cornish Gold (2026)Yes — Cornwall has real placer gold, recovered by the old tin-streamers of the Carnon Valley, Helford and Restronguet. Where it is, why Cornish gold is silver-rich, the law, and what you'll realistically find.
Is There Gold in Devon? Gold Panning in Devon (2026)Yes — gold genuinely occurs in Devon, but it is fine and scarce: North Molton's failed gold mine, Dartmoor's tin-streamers, where it's found, the law, and a guided way to try it.
Is There Gold in the Lake District? Cumbria Panning (2026)Yes, but minor: gold is recorded at Carrock Fell, Coniston, Newlands and Black Combe in Cumbria. Where it sits, why the Caldbeck Fells are gold-poor, the law.
Wales & Northern Ireland
Where to Find Gold in Wales: Is There Welsh Gold? (2026)Yes — Wales has real gold. Where to pan in the Dolgellau belt, the Clogau and Gwynfynydd royal mines, the history of Welsh gold, and the panning licence and NRW rules that actually apply.
Welsh Gold: Can You Pan for It? Clogau & Dolgellau (2026)Can you pan for Welsh gold today? The honest answer — plus where the Dolgellau belt is, the one legal route at Dolaucothi, and how to tell genuine Welsh gold.
The Dolgellau Gold Belt: Wales's Gold Mines, Map & Panning (2026)The Dolgellau Gold Belt is Britain's richest hard-rock gold field — home to Clogau and Gwynfynydd, source of royal wedding-ring gold. Where it is, the mines, and the honest truth about panning it.
Where to Find Gold in Northern Ireland: The 2026 Regional GuideWhere to pan for gold in Northern Ireland — the Dalradian Sperrins, the Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw deposits, County Tyrone's rivers. Geology, history, law and what you'll realistically find.
Laws & permits
How Much Is a Gold Panning Licence? UK Permit Prices 2026There is no UK-wide gold panning licence. Every permit you can buy, who issues it, what it costs and how to get one: Tyndrum, Wanlockhead, Leadhills and Kildonan.
Is Gold Panning Legal in the UK? Permits, Costs & Rules 2026Yes, with the landowner's permission and a permit where required. UK gold panning law 2026: Scotland's permit sites, what they cost, and who owns the gold.
Is Gold Panning Legal in Wales? Banned Rivers & LicencesIs gold panning legal in Wales? Where panning is banned, why NRW prosecutes, the truth about Welsh gold licences, and the legal ways to pan Welsh gold in 2026.
How to pan & what kit to buy
How to Start Gold Panning & Prospecting in the UKStep-by-step guide to gold panning and prospecting in the UK — where to find gold, essential technique, the best locations and how to get landowner permission.
How to Read a River for Gold: UK Prospector's GuideHow to read a UK river for gold — inside bends, boulders, bedrock cracks, riffles, root mats and gravel bars. The free, definitive UK river-reading guide.
How to Recover Fine Gold from Black Sand (UK Guide 2026)How to get fine flour gold out of black-sand concentrate: classify down, run it over fine matting, a vortex bowl or a Miller table, then magnet off the black sand.
Best Gold Panning & Prospecting Equipment UK | Kit ListEssential UK gold panning and prospecting equipment — gold pans, classifiers, crevice tools, snuffer bottles. What to buy first and what beginners should avoid.
Gold Panning Starter Kit UK: The Best Beginner Kit (2026)The best gold panning starter kit for UK beginners: the exact pan, classifier, snuffer bottle and tools we recommend in three simple tiers, or one ready-made bundle.
UK Gold Minerals Guide: Fool's Gold vs Real Gold & Map TagsA photo guide to every mineral tag on the UK gold map: gold vs fool's gold (pyrite), mica, chalcopyrite, quartz, black sand and arsenic, with the tell for each.
Metal detecting
Metal Detecting for Gold in the UK: Yes, Here's How (2026)Yes - detectorists find gold across Britain: gold coins, rings, hammered gold and hoards. What they find, the law, how to start, and the detectors that do it.
Where Can You Legally Metal Detect in the UK? 2026 RulesWhere can you legally metal detect in the UK? Anywhere the landowner agrees and nothing overrides it. The six overrides, quoted from the bodies that set them.
Councils That Allow Metal Detecting: The Verified ListNo national register exists. Nine UK authorities verified on 10 September 2026, the four policy patterns councils use, and a five-minute check for yours.
Metal Detecting on Beaches UK: The Crown Estate RulesMetal detecting on beaches UK: no Crown Estate permit is needed on foreshore, but its 22/01/2024 terms bind you. Check ownership, SSSI status, then byelaws.
Metal Detecting Laws Scotland: What Changes at the BorderMetal detecting laws in Scotland: no permit for Crown foreshore, consent from Historic Environment Scotland, and Treasure Trove claims far more than gold.
History & big finds
UK Gold Rushes: Every Major Strike Through HistoryFrom the 1868 Sutherland rush to medieval Welsh royal gold and Cornish tin-stream finds — every major UK gold rush and mining strike, with deep-dives linked.
The Sutherland Gold Rush 1868–69: The Full StoryThe 1868 Kildonan find, Robert Gilchrist, Baile an Òir's 600 prospectors, the Duke's £1 licences and the rush that built Highland gold history.
Biggest Gold Nuggets Found in the UK: Reunion & Douglas (2026)Britain's largest gold nugget is the 121.3 g Reunion Nugget (2019), after the 85.7 g Douglas Nugget. Why UK nuggets are so rare, and your real chances.
Gold Mines in the UK: Where They Are & Can You Visit?The UK has one working gold mine (Cononish, Scotland), worked-out Welsh royal-gold mines, proposed Northern Irish mines, and one Roman mine you can tour and pan at: Dolaucothi.