A question we regularly get about naturism is “What do you do when it’s cold?” We always find this funny because the simplicity of our answer often leaves people speechless. “We just put on some clothes”.
There are people who passionately follow the mantra “as nude as possible, as much as possible”, but most naturists we meet actually don’t mind clothes that much. This includes ourselves, by the way. We believe that there’s a time and place for everything and at some times or places clothing is just more appropriate. Interestingly, the weather doesn’t necessarily need to be a decisive factor in this.
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Our first time socially nude
Long-time readers of this blog probably already heard this a million times. We took our first steps into social nudity at a Belgian spa centre. It was a late December day and the daytime temperatures barely went above zero. It’s been a while and it could be that we’re imagining this, but we got this mental picture of us arriving dressed in more clothes than we’ve been traveling with for the last seven years.
During the few years that followed, the only times when we would go naked with others would be when it was very cold outside. This is just when spa centres are at their best. If it’s warm and sunny, few feel the need to spend all day inside in hot tubs and saunas. Although many spa centres do have a few outside facilities, there’s just so much more to do on a sunny day. But looking through the window from the indoor pool when it’s pouring rain, or even better when it’s snowing, almost has something magical.
Unfortunately for many who are reading this, the nude spa culture is something very local and hasn’t spread further than a handful of northern and central European countries. The UK also has Clover Spa and in the very south of Spain we found a bathhouse that has several nude days per month, but that must be it.
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Naturist clubs
We discovered the concept of naturist clubs years after we had discovered social nudity. For us, going naked was purely recreational. Something we did at the spa on cold winter weekends or later at resorts when we were on holiday. The odd club must have popped up during our research but the membership and volunteer system probably made us decide to pick the commercial resort around the corner instead.
We had no idea that naturist clubs existed in Belgium. Why would someone become a member at a place where the dress code is nude in a country where the weather is not particularly nude-friendly most of the time? Of course, it’s obvious that the people from the clubs have realised this too and meanwhile found solutions.
Many clubs in colder countries offer a mini-version of the spa centre with at least a sauna and hot tub and sometimes even a lot more. Additionally, they often have heated indoor facilities where they organise events and gatherings. If your only goal is to get an equal tan, clubs may not be your go-to place during the winter. But if you like social nudity for the social aspect, you may even have more fun on a cold evening in the local club than on a warm day at a large resort.
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Indoor activities and events
It took us even longer to figure out that naturist clubs don’t necessarily have their own property. Even though there are some so-called “non-landed clubs” in Belgium, we only discovered them when we were travelling through southern California. This was a real eye-opener for us. The activities at landed clubs are often limited to whatever the location allows. If there’s only a pool, a clubhouse, and a petanque court, it requires a very creative mind to organise something that hasn’t been done a million times before.
For non-landed clubs, the world truly is their oyster and pretty much every venue that can be completely rented can be turned nude. Meanwhile, we’ve been naked laser shooting, we were nude at waterparks in Belgium and the UK and we swam naked in a swimming pool in downtown Paris. The list of things we haven’t done yet is a lot longer: naked bowling, naked museum visits, naked theatre, life drawing, and so on.
These activities don’t always need to be club-related by the way. Naked yoga, for example, has been popping up everywhere and happens in regular yoga studios. We’ll always remember how we once took a naked yoga class on the 11th floor of a building in downtown Manhattan. Meanwhile, we’ve done naked yoga at several places around the world, but the New York skyline definitely added something extra to it. And yes, this was on a cold evening.
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Naked at home
The concept of “home naturism” is fairly new, but the practice has existed forever. Back in the day, it was just called “being naked at home” and it’s probably by far the most popular form of recreational nudity. We were home naturists long before we discovered the term “naturism” and social nudity. It’s just something we did because it felt cosy and comfortable.
Some also say that this is the most affordable form of naturism. You don’t have to pay entrance fees and there’s no transportation involved. You just wake up in the morning and not put on any clothes. In fact, now that we’re writing this, it’s actually easier than getting dressed.
Home naturism as a solution for cold weather does come at a hidden cost though: Heating. If you want to be comfortably naked and it’s freezing outside, you will have to turn up the radiator a couple of notches. Other than the financial implications, there is also the environmental aspect of using more energy for the sole purpose of being comfortably naked. We don’t want to tell you what’s right or wrong here because we’re lucky to spend most of our time in warm places. If we would still have office jobs in Belgium, we’d probably create our own warm naked space as well on lazy Sundays.
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Naked in the cold
Lastly, there are those of you who wondered “What do you mean, put on some clothes?” when they read the introduction of this blog post. We have Canadian friends who send us pictures every winter of themselves ice skating naked on a lake or doing snow angels.
The health benefits of exposing your body to cold have been proven. Wim Hof became world famous because of it and ice baths found their way into meditation and yoga circles. We really enjoy seeing those pictures, but mostly when we can do so from a warm place. It’s a bit like watching the snow fall from the hot tub, really.
How do you spend your time naked when it’s cold?
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Our time being naked when it’s cold is usually confined to our sun room, which heats up with low winter sun. We also indulge ourselves with hygge as we have a log fire in our living room. So we curl up with candles, tv and some alcoholic beverages.
Wow a sun room, that’s awesome!
It was a ‘ must have ‘ when we built the house. We have to make the most of the sun during the winter in Ireland .
“For non-landed clubs, the world truly is their oyster and pretty much every venue that can be completely rented can be turned nude.”
That’s easier said than done, Nick/Lins. Finding places that can be completely rented is difficult as it is. When you propose the possibility of “nude (swimming, dining, socializing)” to a site owner, it’s more often than not the end of the conversation.
Been there, done that.
This is of course very location dependent, but in our experience, it’s often easier than most people think. Naked swims in public pools or water parks that are rented out are becoming a big thing in Europe, as well as naked bowling and museum visits.
In Latin America, we know plenty of non-landed clubs that rent hotels, restaurants, venues,… often in the middle of the city.
The “take over” principle is actually also very huge in the swingers world, and if places allow swinging, they can’t have many issues with non-sexual nudity we’d think 🙂
Going naked in the colder months, no problem, just get warm and go outside for shorter periods. 10 or 15 minutes, getting a short “Cold Air Blast” is as good as dunking in cold water.
For ecological reasons, I do not turn up the heat in winter to be naked.
In the morning when I get out of the warm bed I sometimes go in the morning cold for 15 minutes to enjoy naked the natural elements and sounds. I also sometimes go a day to a spa wellness centre where I can cool down and enjoy the cold air and water after a hot sauna.
We are the same, when we were still living in Belgium it never even occurred to us to turn up the heater just for the sake of being able to be naked. The 15 minutes cold is something we can relate less to 😀
If Kentucky was more free in allowing people to be nude on their own property away from public viewing. It would make my clothes free life easier. can’t even go nude because of small planes flying over can report you.
That’s a real pity