We have recently been asked to do a short Q&A with a number of non-naturist content creators who were going to visit a naturist resort for the first time and report about their experience on their blogs, vlogs, and social media. As one of the reasons why we started this blog was to inform people about what’s really going on at a naturist resort, we happily said yes.
One of the questions that came up was whether they will have to be naked all the time. This didn’t come as a surprise, because we’ve had this question many times before from first-time naturists. We’ve even identified this as something that stops people from giving naturism a try. It’s not the fear of going nude, it’s the fear of being pressured to be naked when you don’t feel comfortable.
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Nude when possible, clothed when practical
The mantra of many naturists is “nude when possible, clothed when practical”. Both “possible” and “practical” mostly refer to the weather and the environment. A sunny afternoon next to the swimming pool of a naturist resort is definitely both possible and practical. A meeting with your boss on a cold winter evening is neither possible nor practical.
We too follow this mantra quite strictly. If we can’t see a practical reason to wear clothes, we don’t wear any. But we are also aware that this is very personal. What is practical or possible for us, may not be for you. At which temperatures do clothes become practical? 20°C? 10°C? Never? Ten different naturists will likely give you 10 different answers.
Even more difficult are activities. Is it more practical to dine clothed than nude? How about setting up your tent? And then we haven’t even mentioned sports yet. Some naturists will tell you that the best way ever to do any sport is without clothes. While others feel that all those moving body parts become a physical restriction and a mental distraction.
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The resort decides on the rules
While the mantra is a beautiful idea, it’s easy to see that it’s impossible to use this as an actual rule. Therefore, every resort gets to decide for themselves on the dress code. The rules will slightly differ from place to place, but you can roughly divide the resorts into 3 categories:
The nude obligatory resort
The rule at these resorts is that the only purpose of clothes is protection. Clothes should only be worn if there’s no alternative. Read: If it’s freezing, if you’re working a chainsaw, or if there’s a high chance that you’ll be chased by a bear later today. Although we doubt that in the last example clothes will be that much of a help. This type of resort is common in the USA.
The advantage of such resorts is that there’s often a strong sense of community and equality because everyone is naked all the time. Some will also argue that being thrown into the deep end is a much better way to become comfortable in your own body than taking baby steps, but we believe that this is something personal. The disadvantage of these resorts is that such a strict rule scares away beginning naturists and doesn’t leave space for those who like to swim or sunbathe naked, but nothing else.
The no-bathing-suit resort
The rule at these resorts is that you should be naked in any circumstances where you would be wearing a bathing suit in the textile world. Meaning, in all the water facilities, in the sauna or the spa, on the beach, etc. In other spaces like the sports courts or the restaurant, wearing a sarong or clothes is allowed. HOWEVER, bathing suits are never allowed, because then you could as well be naked. This type of resort is very common in Europe.
The advantage of such resorts is that they attract all kinds of naturists, from those who only want to enjoy a couple of hours naked next to the pool to those who want to spend every minute of the day without clothes. The disadvantage is that it’s hard to maintain a balance and that clothes can have a snowball effect. Maybe you are totally comfortable dining naked, but not with being the only naked person in the restaurant. We have noticed that in places where a lot of naturists do like to wear clothes (like in the restaurant), they often unintentionally influence the others to get dressed as well.
The clothing-optional resort
As the name suggests, the rule at these resorts is that there isn’t any dress code. Whether you want to be clothed or naked is completely up to you. These resorts are actually quite rare, and the name is often abused. When resorts want to step away from the term “naturist” or “nudist”, their choice often goes to “clothing-optional”. Even though clothes are not an option and they maintain a nude obligatory policy. True clothing-optional resorts can mostly be found in places that mostly rely on tourists, like the Caribbean.
The big advantages of clothing-optional resorts are that the choice of what to do naked and what not is completely yours and that you can travel with people who are not naturists to the same resort. The disadvantages are that these resorts will more easily attract voyeurs and that the clothed guests might outnumber the nude ones, which could make you feel uncomfortable.
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Which type do we enjoy the most?
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you probably know that we are strong supporters of the clothing-optional concept. Mind the word “concept” though, because we also learned that the beauty of this idea (everyone is free to do what they want) is often not the reality (nude people can be a minority and this makes you feel vulnerable and/or uncomfortable). We’ve learned that the clothing-optional concept seems to work particularly well in high-end resorts. You’re not going to risk getting kicked out if you paid several hundreds of euros per night, and neither do you pay that much if you (or your company) do not intend to go naked.
We personally prefer the no-bathing-suit resort over the nude obligatory resort, because we like having the choice. This is kinda interesting because you’ll see us wearing the same amount of clothes at no-bathing-suit resorts as we would in nude obligatory resorts, none unless we really have to. We just believe that strict rules don’t match with the idea of liberation that is so typical of naturism. But once again, this is just a personal opinion and not necessarily one you’d like to follow.
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Which type should you go for?
The following paragraphs are primarily for aspiring naturists and those who have taken the first step but didn’t feel the resort was a good match with what they had in mind.
We see two reasons why you would like to visit a clothing-optional resort for your first or second naturist experience. One is because you’re travelling with a friend/spouse/colleague/… who doesn’t want to go naked at all but has no problem with being around naked people. The other reason is that you’ve chosen this specific resort for its amenities or location and it happens to be clothing-optional.
If that is not the case, we would much rather send you to a no-bathing-suit resort. Here you can take things at your own pace, but you will be feeling that gentle push in the back. At one point or another, that swimming pool will start calling your name and you’ll know that the only way to get in there is by finally taking off that sarong.
In case you know of yourself that you really need a big push in the back before you do anything out of your comfort zone, you want to look into nude-obligatory resorts instead. Call it the big shock or the short pain, but know that you’ll only have to go through a couple of uncomfortable moments before the scary step is completely behind you.
Personally, we think that every naturist should experience a nude obligatory resort at least once in their journey. We believe that it’s thanks to our visits to these resorts that we are as comfortable being nude as we are today. We would never have thought that nude volleyball was so much fun before we were at a place where it was either nude volleyball or no volleyball at all.
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How to find a resort that suits your dress code needs
The difficulty is that while we made this distinction of three categories, this is not something official. In fact, the term “no-bathing-suit resort” is something we’ve just made up. The first place you want to look is at the website of the resort. If there are clear dress code rules, it’s obvious that you will have to follow those. If they mention that you should be nude whenever possible or only wear clothes for protection, it will quite likely be a nude obligatory resort. If the rules are rather vague or hard to find, you will probably be looking at a no-bathing-suit resort or a clothing-optional one.
Another good way is by looking at online reviews. Naturists who expected a nude obligatory resort but ended up around clothed people (or vice versa) are likely to complain about this. By reading the reviews, you can get an idea of the written or unwritten rules at the resort. But the very best thing is to just go over and have a look for yourself. Even if it isn’t what you initially expected, it might still be your best experience ever.
What type of resorts do you like the most? Let us know in the comments!
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As an experienced naturist who is comfortable being naked in any situation, I prefer resorts where nudity is the default (which is not often the case, actually). However, I do not believe nudity should be enforced, and in the vast majority of cases, I don’t think it would be enforced. Although some venues might give the impression that they would enforce nudity at times, especially in a pool, in reality I don’t think this happens very often (I’ve never seen it happen). I certainly can’t think of a single venue we have been to where someone who was clearly struggling to go nude because it was their first time would be put under pressure. Besides, as all naturists know, it often takes only a few seconds before the first-timer is ‘converted’ and he or she is soon wondering what all the fuss was about, so the key moment is usually soon over. I think it is important to emphasise that all of the fears that prevent would-be naturists from trying it nearly always turn out to be completely unfounded.
You’re absolutely right about the fears of beginning naturists being totally unfounded. This is why we stand behind the clothing-optional concept. Because it allows people to join without the fear of being forced to be naked, which makes the step a lot smaller. And once they are among naturists, they’ll soon start feeling comfortable enough to get naked as well. Of course, this may not come at the cost of existing naturists, by for example creating clothed zones like the restaurant.
I think clothing optional is the best all round. I agree that it’s the best for first-timers, so they don’t feel pressured into getting naked.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on your blog, I am not a big fan of resorts, preferring beaches. But I have stayed overnight in clubs that offer accommodation, and once in a hotel. In both cases, I stayed nude the whole time, while most or all other people were dressed.
Personally, I’ve never felt uncomfortable being naked amongst clothed people. I’ve been in that situation many times. My preference for myself is nude. I got used to being nude amongst clothed people many years ago, in my early 20s, when visiting a beach where nudity was accepted but not official, and 90% of the people on the beach were clothed.
I was on holiday once, with my girlfriend, on the island of Menorca. We were in a little complex of about 10 apartments (chalets) around a swimming pool – it was not a naturist venue. There was a bar in one corner. Late one evening someone suggested skinny dipping in the pool. I was the only one who did it. When I got out of the pool, wet, I decided to dry in the air rather than get a towel. No one seemed to be bothered so I decided to stay nude for the rest of the evening and stood at the bar amongst about 18 clothed people.
Over several years I have introduced a number of women (mostly partners, some just friends) to nude beaches, and in every case, they were reassured that clothing was optional, so they weren’t pressured to go nude. Most of them started out saying they wouldn’t go nude but were ok with me doing so. Then eventually, they would tentatively try it and ultimately, and usually very quickly, come to love it.
I have always held the opinion that all beaches should be clothing optional and whether you wear clothes, beachwear or nothing at all should be personal choice. Of course, without meaning to keep repeating myself, here in the UK it technically is the case that all beaches are clothing optional, in fact everywhere is clothing optional, because, as I have pointed out many times, public nudity is legally allowed here.
I definitely do not agree that all beaches should be clothing optional. More than at present, absolutely, but not all of them! That would just turn off people who do not want to share the beach with naked folk for whatever reason which, lets be honest, is the vast majority of people. It’s unworkable and would definitely get peoples backs up, resulting in more animosity towards naturists I’d say. You would always have the odd character who would exercise his enshrined ‘right’ to go nude on a busy beach where most everyone else is clothed, making everyone feel awkward. It’s bad enough on naturist beaches where the tiresome single guys walk up and down with their backpacks on and nothing else scoping out where they want to plonk themselves next, usually in good view of a female they want to ogle a bit more. Really annoying!
You are right David! Although we are strong supporters of the clothing-optional principle, we recognize that its major flaw is that it doesn’t take into account that there are naturists who don’t want to be among textiles and textiles who don’t want to be among naturists. One could say that “they just have to get used to it”, but this will take lots of time and is likely to be the source of lots of struggles.
In our perfect world, beaches are clothing-optional unless otherwise specified. With then specified beaches that are nude-obligatory or textile-obligatory.
I cannot understand how any genuine naturist can be uncomfortable being nude amongst others who are nude or clothed. Isn’t part of it about being comfortable with nudity and not ashamed of your body? I find it difficult to believe that someone is a genuine naturist/nudist or whatever if they are not comfortable with it.
This is a typical reaction from someone who has been a naturist for a long time. Don’t forget about the people who are just getting started or even long-time naturists who need that equal level of vulnerability to feel comfortable. Just the other day, we were talking with someone who visits a naturist resort every summer vacation but doesn’t participate in naturist activities otherwise. She told us that after so many times, the first couple of minutes at a naturist resort still feel somewhat awkward.
I strongly disagree that it would be unworkable. It already works! As I have said, in the absence of sexual context and when there is no intention to cause, alarm or distress, “a naturist going about his (or her) business in the nude, in public, is not committing an offence” in the UK, which effectively means all beaches, as well as other public places, are by default, clothing-optional.
In fact, it self-regulates. For example, anyone parading around naked on a very busy beach in a popular holiday resort could be seen to be acting with intent to cause alarm or distress or be doing it for sexual gratification, which then makes it an offence. Any sensible nudist/naturist would not go shoving it in people’s faces and would find a discreet spot away from the main crowd but on the same beach.
I have done this many times, with no issues. An example is, on holiday with my wife (when I was married), we were on a very busy regular (textile) beach where the majority of people were on up at the sea edge of the beach. My wife and I were at the rear of the beach, about 20m behind them. My wife was only topless but I was nude. We occasionally walked to the sea for a swim, without issue. We did this every day for 2 weeks, spending 7 to 8 hours a day on the beach. We weren’t hidden away though, we could be seen by the other beach users, but we weren’t getting up close and shoving it in their faces.
Your comment about single guys with backpacks is far more annoying than they are! In the last 30 years, I have frequently been one of them. I haven’t always had a female partner to accompany me. I can assure you that my intention was not to find females to plonk myself next to and ogle! So, your comment is quite offensive!
It “works”. As we understood the UK laws, it’s legal to be naked in public as long as you don’t offend anyone. Meaning that if you’re all alone naked on a beach, the police won’t do anything against it (unless they are the ones who are offended). But as soon as there are other people around, it becomes tricky, because how can you know that nobody will be offended?
As you mentioned, this pushes the sensible naturists to the outskirts of the beaches, to beaches that are hard to reach, or to beaches that are not very nice and thus don’t attract many people. These are also the beaches where you’ll rarely find facilities, bars, etc. So this doesn’t seem like an ideal situation to us. But it’s a step in the right direction.
About the single guys, we don’t think that David was talking about EVERY single guy, but everyone who frequents nude beaches knows the type he is talking about.
That’s not quite correct. Someone being offended is not enough to make nudity in public unlawful.
For it to be unlawful the nude person has to be engaging in a sexual act, or deliberately exposing their genitals towards someone with the intention to cause that person harrassment, alarm or distress, and, that person must actually be harrassed, alarmed or distressed. Here are a three excerpts from a guide for the police by the College of Policing:
“Naturists have a right to freedom of expression which only engages criminal law if they commit sexual offences or use disorderly behaviour that they intend to or are aware may be disorderly within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress.“
“ At the time that the Sexual Offences Act 2003 was debated in Parliament, care was taken to word the legislation in a way specifically intended to avoid it impinging on the rights and activities of naturists. Consequently, the Act requires that a sexual offence dimension would need to be involved for public
nudity to constitute the offence of exposure under section 66 the Act. This would involve deliberately exposing genitalia towards another person with the intention of them seeing and being caused alarm or distress (‘flashing’ or sometimes referred to as ‘indecent’ exposure).”
“ An act of public nudity is unlikely to constitute this offence unless members of the public were caused actual harassment, alarm or distress (as opposed to considering the likelihood of this happening or the complainant personally finding nudity distasteful or offensive).”
The key comment regarding someone merely being offended is in brackets at the end of the last of those paragraphs. To clarify what that means, someone finding nudity distasteful or offensive is not enough to make it unlawful.
The police are advised to take no action unless there is sexual activity or deliberate intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress, and police call handlers are advised to advise callers that if someone is only nude, no laws are being broken and it is legal for them to be nude.
This is why public nudity is legal in the UK.
Not many beaches in the UK have bars in any case. And many of the beaches where nudity is prevalent are not particularly remote.
The question is: If we feel alarmed or distressed by your nudity, even though you’re just sunbathing a couple of meters away from us, and we call the authorities, whose side will they pick? Will they tell us that it’s your right to be naked and that we have nothing to be distressed about? Or will they ask you to put your clothes on or to move away to another spot?
We have no experience with naturism in the UK, but it seems like the law is quite similar to Spain where it’s also legal to be naked in public (unless specifically stated). But we’ve heard of quite a lot of cases where naturists are asked to get dressed or to move away when someone complains about their nudity.
I Personally agree with St’ephane Deschenes philosophy on nude obligatory. I feel it makes all the members and quest of such resorts feel more comfortable. With everyone being totally nude. Their are times when it is appropriate to put something one for protection from the elements or different types of tasks that require some type of clothing for protection. Also, where clothing is proper in areas were public nudity is not accepted, and out of respect for those that are offended by it. I personally feel public nudity should be a matter of personal choice and should be accepted globally. I love being nude, not just the feeling of it. But, the health benefits and the fact that when everyone is nude we are all on an equal playing field. It solves a lot of problems with obsessions with our looks and harassment for our lifestyles and how we live our lives.
“guest”
The reply button disappeared from your last comment, so I’ve had to use it from your previous comment! So, this comment might be out of sequence!
To answer your question, it’s not enough for you to be alarmed or distressed to make my nudity unlawful. I have to also INTEND for you to be alarmed or distressed.
If I am sunbathing nude on a beach, or swimming, or walking, but otherwise minding my own business, I am not breaking the law.
The police are obliged to advise you that I am not breaking the law. In fact, the call handler is supposed to advise you that I’m not breaking the law. The guidance I have referred to tells them they shouldn’t even attend, but whether they do or not, no action should be taken unless there is sexual context and you are genuinely alarmed or distressed.
The law is designed to allow the police to prosecute the guy who leaps from behind a bush, with an erection, and scares the victim, but to protect the naturist from prosecution.
Somewhere in the footnotes of the guidance of either the College of Policing or the Crown Prosecution Service, it even questions whether in this day and age someone could reasonably be alarmed or distressed by a nude person.
The law is very much on the side of the naturist unless they are committing an offence other than their nudity.
It’s possible that the police might ask me to cover up or move away, but only to avoid a breach of the peace. But they can’t legally enforce it. That’s never happened to me though.
“the police might ask me to cover up or move away, but only to avoid a breach of the peace”
This is exactly what we wanted to say. And even if they can’t legally enforce it, if they ask you and you don’t obey, you’re probably breaking some other laws.
What we’re trying to say is that clothing-optional only works when everyone can feel comfortable. Knowing that someone might call the police who might send you away does not add to the comfort.
The thing is, there will always be people who feel disturbed/annoyed/threatened by nudity. Clothing-optional might grow the general acceptance of nudity, but that’s in the very long run. This is why we believe in a system with dedicated nude beaches and dedicated textile beaches, and where all non-specified beaches are clothing-optional. In the case of a complaint at one of the clothing-optional beaches, it’s much easier for you and for the authorities to say to the complainers that if they don’t want to see nudity, they have to go to textile-only beaches.
When I said the police might ask me to cover up, yes, it’s possible but unlikely, and it’s never happened to me. They could of course question my motive if I insist on being nude where everyone else is clothed. Because that could be interpreted to have a sexual motive or the intention to cause alarm or distress.
Breach of the peace is an offence that can have many causes. In this instance, they might argue that your nudity might cause someone who objects to it to become aggressive. That would be, “acting in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace”. That would be an offence, but the nudity itself isn’t an offence. This is where some discretion on the part of the naturist would be prudent. For example, walking nude into a very crowded area full of clothed people and basically parading yourself in front of them in close proximity would potentially put you in danger of being likely to cause a breach of the peace; while walking nude across the beach to the sea, 25m away from the clothed crowd, while still visible to them, would not.
I did have a conversation with two police offers one day, close to one of the official naturist beaches. I had parked my car in the main car park and walked along a path next to the dunes. The beach was on the other side of the dunes and the official naturist section about 500m walk from the car park. I was almost nude but had a sarong, folded to form a short “skirt” wrapped around me. As I crossed another path which came from a holiday park, a police landrover rolled up and two police officers, a man and a woman, got out and approached me. It turned out that earlier in the day someone walking from the beach to the holiday park had seen a nude man cross the path in front of them just where we were standing. They asked me if I was a naturist and I confirmed I was and that I was on my way to the naturist section of the beach. Then I asked why they were there. They said it was because the person had reported the nude man. I asked them if they knew the law and if they were aware that it wouldn’t be illegal to walk where we were in the nude. They confirmed that they knew and that it was perfectly legal to be nude, but they wanted to advise anyone doing so that it might be better not to, so as not to cause offence. But they did confirm that if I was to remove the sorong there and then right in front of them, there was nothing to stop me and nothing legally they could do to stop me.
Many other times, before and after that encounter, I have walked that route in the nude without issue, even when people have seen me.
Another time, when I was going to another favourite beach of mine, which isn’t an official nude beach but is used by naturists in certain parts of it, I telephoned the local police station that covers the area and explained that I was a naturist and intended to spend some time there in the nude. I asked if they were aware of the law and what their response would be if someone reported seeing me in the nude. The sergeant in charge told me they would try to explain to any complainant that it was perfectly legal and most likely would not attend. All he asked of me was not to flaunt it and try to be respectful of others. He even suggested making a banner or sign, readable from about 50m away, saying something like, “Naturist sunbathing in the nude” to warn people. I left him my mobile phone number so he could call me if there were any complaints. He never called, and I was able to walk freely around the beach and adjacent forest in the nude, safe in the knowledge that I had the support of the local police.
One of the best nude beaches in the UK, Morfa Dyffryn in North Wales, is effectively clothing-optional. The marked official nude section is a stretch of beach 1.2km/0.75 miles long between textile areas on a beach 7 miles long in total. Clothed people use the naturist section as well as naturists. People walk through from one end of the full beach to the other. The clothed people don’t seem to mind the nude people, and I’ve never noticed any naturists looking uncomfortable with the clothed people.
Many of the naturists get dressed on the beach before leaving, so there are times when you have no idea whether they are naturists or not. When I’m having a day or more at the nude beach I prefer to be nude all the time, so, I don’t get dressed at all. I usually stay until into the evening when there are fewer people on the beach and walk back to my car in the nude.
It is becoming so well known in the UK now, that public nudity is legal, that most of the time it is highly unlikely for anyone to complain.
I had no idea the UK did allow public nudity like this. That’s good to know Tim.
I have never been to the UK, but I know Spain.
One thing is the law, and an other thing is what happens in practice. I would say that in Spain, things are a bit different in each region. I mean, anywhere in Spain, getting naked is absolutely no problem when the beach is not crowded and you can stay a few meters away from the other people. That’s not what I want to talk about here. What makes the difference is what happens on a crowded textil beach in the summer: can you get naked there? In many places, although the law does not prevent it, I would not feel comfortable doing so. But there are exceptions. I will give one you mentioned in a previous post: Menorca. I would say that nudity is well accepted on any of the beaches on this island. Many of those beaches are mostly textil beach. What I mean is that the occasional nudist on those 99% textil beaches is not uncommon and is well accepted. And that’s great. There are of course well known nudist spots where nudists are a majority, but you can enjoy any other beach in the nude too, without getting weird comments: it’s an accepted thing to be naked on whatever beach.
We’ve noticed the same in Spain. There’s a big difference between what is legal and what is socially accepted. Yes, you can legally be naked on every beach, but if you decide to do so on crowded textile beaches, you have to realise that there might be people who don’t know that it’s legal and who might be disturbed about your nudity. You could then go through the hustle of trying to explain what naturism is and that it is legal, maybe even including the authorities, but that’s just not what most people want to do when they go to the beach. Instead, it’s better to choose a less crowded beach instead and enjoy your day naked on the beach.
As I have pointed out a few times now, the only thing that can make public nudity a criminal offence in the UK is when it is done with the intent to cause alarm or distress, and, the person(s) you intend to cause alarm or distress, are actually alarmed or distressed, or, you are doing something sexual, like wanking.
Now, if you walk (parade) around a crowded beach in the nude where everyone else is clothed, your intent may come under scrutiny. If it is then decided, by police and courts, that you have done it with intent to cause alarm or distress and that some people were alarmed or distressed by it, you’re in trouble. And of course, if you’re walking around with a hard-on, wanking, you’re making it sexual, and again you’re in trouble.
Personally, I don’t like crowded beaches in any case, clothed or naked. I don’t want to be up close to and surrounded by strangers on any beach.
If you are walking, sunbathing, paddling or swimming in the sea, in the nude, so long as you’re not doing anything sexual, and you’re minding your own business, even if there are other, clothed, people close by (there’s no written rule, but say 10m away) you are not breaking the law, you are acting within your legal right to be nude in public.
I have done this many times. I like to go for long walks along beaches. A couple of beaches I go to are very long and I might walk 2 miles (and 2 miles back again). I have met clothed people walking in the opposite direction, walked past swimwear-clad sunbathers and swimmers, passing only 5m to 10m away from them, on regular “textile” beaches, with no issues. That’s perfectly legal.
I could recount hundreds of specific examples, but it would make for a very long comment.
Whenever i go to a resort, the number one thing for me is that i can remain naked from when i enter to when i leave, wether i am at the pool, the bar or in a restaurant. It does not affect me if other people wish to dress up for dinner, as long as i can remain relaxed as nature intended. I once went to resort where they would allow you to be nude outside the bar, but not inside. On one chilly night everyone was inside, and i remained nude, along with a couple of others, they soon dropped that rule. I remember being at Cap d’agde years ago when the local Harley biker group visited to show off their bikes, i have a picture of me at the bar naked with a large group of bikers, which was such a great memory. It takes all types.
It’s how it should be. No one should really have a problem with another person’s nude body.
In one relationship I was in, I lived with my girlfriend in her house. I had introduced her to nudism and she had quickly got to love it. So, she decided she wanted the freedom to enjoy it in her own garden. We spoke to all the neighbours, one household at a time; the house directly facing us was occupied by a 40-something single mother and her 15-year-old son; to our right was a single woman in her 50s who was openly a lesbian and had several regular female visitors; to our left was a 30-something couple with a young daughter of about 8; next door to them was a couple in their mid-30s, of which the male was a policeman. They could also see into my girlfriend’s garden due to the angle of the houses.
They all said they were happy with us being nude in the garden. We often stood talking with the neighbours on both sides of us while we were nude.
The house was at the end of a cul-de-sac and the only houses opposite the front of my girlfriend’s house that could see us were occupied by friends we knew, and they had no problems with us being nude either. So, we were able to go into the open plan front garden in the nude as well.
It was great to have the freedom to be able to do that with such relaxed and understanding neighbours. The male of the couple with the 8-year-old worked away a lot, and his wife would often come and sit with us with a glass of wine in an evening, us nude, she dressed. Often, when I was mowing the lawn in the nude, the 40-something single mum would wave to me from a bedroom window. One time, a storm had blown a fence panel out in the fence between our gardens. She was trying to fix something electrical in her house and wasn’t sure about it. She asked me for help. I walked through the gap in the fence and into her house with her and helped her fix it, me nude the whole time.
It was an amazing time, we were able to be nude as much as we wanted to, even when mixing with the neighbours. It’s how it should be.
In fact, one of our neighbouring couples was shocked when they invited us to a party at their house and we turned up with clothes on! They said they’d expected us to come in the nude lol. They’d told all their other guests we were nudists and to expect us to be nude… so they were all surprised when we weren’t! lol
Love thy neighbour – yes i went to visit a very good friend of mine in Brighton and to meet her new husband, on arrival we went into the kitchen to make coffee and she turned and said “Whats wrong with you?” i was confused and said “Im fine”, so she said, “Then why have you still got your clothes on?” Loved it. I now live in Spain, and when she and her husband visited me we stayed late on the nude beach (in the middle of the town!), and walked home naked through the streets, the only comment made by passers by was one woman asking my female friend if she was OK, or needed help – which actually was a very nice gesture, once reassured she just walked away.
I have heard that in recent days, the police in the UK have publicly announced that nudity in public is legal and that if anyone out walking in the countryside encounters a nude person or persons, they should not be worried, the nude person or persons are acting legally and within their rights to be nude.
Sorry, but as a Naturist, it should be ‘clothes off on arrival’. From an introduction at a Club with a girlfriend, it was very embarrassing to be clothed with everyone stripping off. We joined them and after a few minutes all embarassments had disappeared with our clothes. Yes if it is cold you keep them on, but we go to a hot resort where it will not be cold. At the resort Cap D’Agde where we went, nudity was close to 100% and NOBODY wore anything round the pool and the beach. After dark there were similar proportions of nude / clothed. I believe this has now changed as has the clientele there. I note that in hot weather I rarely see anybody wearing clothes at a Club.
Thanks for sharing your opinion, Philip.
We believe that there is no right or wrong here. Different people expect different things. That is why it’s so important that there are different types of venues. Ranging from resorts where you’re expected to be naked whenever the weather allows it, to clothing-optional resorts where everyone has the choice.
Just veering slightly off the main topic but still relevant, especially regarding my comments about the legality of public nudity in the UK…
We are having a bit of a heatwave at the moment and yesterday and today temperatures have reach high numbers.
As I write this post I am naked in my garden which is overlooked by neighbours. I have been able to sit here for hours, interspersed with the odd stroll around the garden. I have been able to cool myself by standing on my lawn and pouring cold water over myself from a large jug.
I’ve had a conversation with my neighbours next door. They are fine with me being nude. Not that they could do anything about it if they weren’t!
It’s very hot, but there is a slight warm breeze that occasionally blows, which is nice to feel all over your body.
I’ve spent most of the last 2 days naked. It’s been wonderful having that freedom without worries.
Great discussions & article! Personally I prefer the nude obligatory approach as it definitely helps everyone feel equal & encourages the lifestyle – I’ve always found it funny that at some nude obligatory resorts the staff often have different approaches with some being nude only on breaks! I agree the key thing is good communication so you know what to expect. As a side I host a few travelers in Sydney through different sites & if they are interested in nudism then I take the nude obligatory approach as I find it removes any nerves & just makes being nude socially a normality but I make sure they know what to expect.
The clothing policies for the staff are a bit different because they can also have to do with local laws. In France, for example, there are dress code rules in the hospitality sector, and it’s not allowed to be naked in the kitchen of a resort.
I imagine it is more about health and safety than the nudity itself.
I’ve done BBQs in the nude and having hot fat spat on your willy isn’t funny. 😀
Following on from my previous +1 comment regarding public nudity in England and Wales, I decided to test the water today. We’ve had some high temperatures again this week, 33°C right now at 6pm. I’ve spent all day chilling, nude, in my garden, since 8:30 am.
I was lying on the lawn around 2 hours ago and fancied a cold beer, but didn’t have any. So I decided to nip to one of my local shops to get some. Standing up from the lawn and feeling great, I thought, being the long-term nudist I am, why should I have to put any clothes on?
So basically I didn’t. I walked to my from drive, got in the car, drove 1/4 mile to the shop, got out of the car, walked into the shop, picked up 2 beers, went to the counter and paid for them, and drove home.
Back in my drive, I get out of my car, walk up my drive, into my back garden, pour myself a beer and continue to relax.
Only about 3 people saw me, plus the shopkeeper, no one was hurt, and no one seemed offended.