News and Articles

News and articles about BN and the wonderful world of Naturism

A Nude Year's Resolution to Get Fit

30 December 2011
Where will you be?
The second Great British Skinny Dip event - organised by British Naturism, the UK’s national naturist organisation, takes place during January and February 2012 with a variety of naturist swim locations offering half price entry to newcomers.
Millions of people around the country will be making New Year's resolutions to get fit after the excesses of the festive season and often also to try something new. The Great British Skinny Dip manages both in one go.
British Naturism's Commercial Manager, Andrew Welch said:
“There is nothing quite so liberating and life-affirming as swimming without clothes with the wonderful sensation of the water over your whole body. Millions of people around the world have discovered the joys of skinny-dipping and we want to provide an easy opportunity for many others to give it a go – and find out what they are missing. “Social nudity” is on the increase as people are far less hung up these days about seeing or being seen naked by friends and family and are realising the benefits it brings to mental, emotional and physical health, body image issues, and their ability to relax and escape the rigours of daily life."
Media attendance at many of the events is welcome. Please contact us for further information and assistance or make direct contact – details for each venue are to be found on the Great British Skinny Dip website
- ENDS -
Contacts:
BN Commercial Manager
Andrew Welch 01753 481527
07774 955138
commercial.manager@bn.org.uk
Notes for Editors
British Naturism (BN) is the UK’s officially recognised naturist organisation. It exists to support and unite naturists around the UK and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2014, although its predecessors have been in existence since the 1930s.
A survey conducted in the autumn of 2011 by Ipsos Mori shows that there are 3.7 million naturists in the UK
Amongst the aims of BN are to campaign for more places to be made available for naturism and to protect naturists against discrimination and Victorian attitudes to the human body. For the full list of our aims see here. In May 2010 we launched a Three Year Plan providing a framework for all of our work and services to naturists everywhere.
Fact – in law, there is no offence of nudity. Various pieces of legislation and common law are often mentioned in connection with naturism but they are not relevant.
In the UK, there are over 130 sun clubs, swim clubs and holiday resorts and many “officially designated” naturist beaches, with many others used regularly by naturists. Membership of BN is around 10,500 people with many more being members of clubs affiliated to BN. There are also thousands of UK naturists who enjoy holidays and beaches in the UK and abroad without being members of recognised naturist organisations.
YBN (Young British Naturists) has a membership of young men and women between the ages of 18 and 30 who get together at clubs and beaches many weekends. They represent the UK at the International Naturist Federation (INF) Youth Rally held annually – see our YBN pages for more details.
Naturism is good for you. Naturists report improvements in well-being, stress, chronic illness, self-esteem and body image. It’s also a sensible choice of dress when the weather is warm. Naturists are normal people. The only difference between activities inside and outside of naturism is the dress code. See FAQs about naturism.
It is a fallacy to believe that naked children are any more at risk of abuse in a naturist environment. In addition, unaccompanied children are not permitted in naturist places and the community spirit that pervades ensures that a watchful eye is present. Despite the perception, there are far fewer problems in naturism than in more “public” places where children and adults mix. Mindful of the need to be aware of child safeguarding issues, however, BN have a robust child safeguarding policy, code of practice, and a Child Safeguarding sub-committee that meets regularly and runs workshops on the subject, sometimes to groups from outside the naturist world.

For more information on British Naturism, please visit our website at:
www.bn.org.uk/. For the media, there is a dedicated “Media Centre” at www.bn.org.uk/mediacentre/, which contains useful information for those wishing to write about naturism or to feature this wonderful world in their publications or programmes, including a downloadable Media Information Pack. There is also a contact page, to ensure that any enquiries are directed to the right person and gain an appropriate and speedy reply.

Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults

British Naturism takes the protection, well-being and safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults in Naturism very seriously and a copy of our policy is available below.
Our policy is put into practice though a Child Safeguarding committee which works closely with NSPCC and meets regularly that our policy is up to date and being properly implemented. We run workshops and seminars for groups - including some non-naturist groups - around the country and encourage member clubs to appoint their own child safeguarding officers and adopt our child safeguarding policy. Special status is given to clubs that have completed our training course.
Despite possible perceptions, problems in this area within naturism are rare. There is no evidence that naked children are at any greater risk than their clothed counterparts. In fact, children are safer in Naturism as children are never allowed to attend without their parents or guardians and entry procedures, members-only locations and/or dedicated sessions mean that the general public are excluded - unlike so many other places where children gather. The community spirit that pervades at Naturist places means that people keep an eye out for each other; anyone getting into Naturism for the wrong reasons soon would soon discover that they'd made a mistake.
Naturist children are happy, well-adjusted and safe. Children don't care if they are wearing clothes or not - it's adults who make them get dressed. They grow up with a better understanding of what will happen to their bodies and enjoy a relaxed, outdoor life. It's often hard work persuading them to get dressed at the end of a day to go home! Also, Naturism is an activity that all the family can do together - rare in the 21st Century. Hot afternoons will see families, sometimes into 3 generations, at Naturist places, swimming, playing sports, BBQing or picnicking, letting off steam with friends in children's play areas or youth clubhouses, or lazing about enjoying each other's company. Naturist families have more open relationships - it is often reported by children who grew up in Naturism how they felt they could talk to their parents about anything. Many adults who grew up as children in Naturism bring their own children up the same way, remembering what a great time they had.
As young children grow into adulthood, Naturism provides an advantage. Western Europe outperforms the UK, often by a factor of five or more, across a wide range of indicators, including teenage pregnancy and abortion rates. There are many reasons but a major contributor is lack of knowledge compounded by the nudge-nudge, wink-wink attitude of large parts of the media and society.
Please download the Child Safeguarding Policy here.

Great publicity for BN as we hit breakfast TV screens

We often make the point that our subject matter can give us promotional opportunities that other groups don't get, but how valuable was the good publicity that BN gained from our appearance on ITV's breakfast show, Daybreak in October 2011?
BN's Commercial Manager Andrew Welch and Youth Officer Daryl Jones were among a group of BN members who got a chance to get our message across. Unfortunately, they were largely hidden behind several boxes of breakfast cereal but as Andrew said: "may not be everybody's favourite programme but you can't argue with the fact that there were probably more than a million people watching."
The TV appearance came because BN was approached earlier this year by Golin Harris, the PR company who handle Unilever's (http://www.unilever.co.uk/) fabric softener brand Comfort Pure who teamed up with British Naturism to prove that being naked is good for your skin. They staged a photo-shoot in Central London, ran an internet poll and set up the TV appearance,with BN getting the services of Golin Harris (one of the country's top PR companies, who also handle publicity for McDonald's) absolutely free. That gave Andrew, Daryl and friends theopportunity to go on national television and, as we always should, make the point that of course naturism is good for you. It's good for your skin, it's good for positive body image.
Andrew did well to steer the discussion away from the usual 'Oh, they're all a bunch of weirdos'' line by pointing out that naturists aren't anti-clothes, we just feel that they aren't always essential. It was also great to see so many young people among the BN contingent. There's a real drive within BN at the moment to attract younger members and seeing so many enthusiastic young naturists on national television can only have done us enormous good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoPa3q2JMTI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD0bqZ-dKCM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

British Naturism Magazine - BN188 Summer 2011

The summer 2011 edition (BN 188) is packed with great news, features and travel reports from the world of naturism.
We have the first, very important, details of how to book for this year's BN Alton Towers Naturist Weekend. More than ever before, we need your help to make sure this event stays at the forefront of BN's Big Days Out calendar, so don't delay - book NOW!
We look back to BN's big weekend in Blackpool and forward to the first-ever week-long Nudefest at Newperran in Cornwall, while there are full details of how you can get involved in the first Great British Skinny Dip.
Our Unsung Hero in this edition is a motorcyclist, church organist - and secretary of one of BN's most thriving regions. His story makes fascinating reading.
We go back into the history of our lifestyle and find out how the mother of a famous 1950s naturist decided to shed her clothes and her inhibitions.
Travel focuses on Southern Europe and the UK, with a look at the very best naturist accommodation and beaches on the Algarve and the campsite in Montenegro where the owners are intent on being green, as well as helping their guests turn brown all over.
All this together with a look at one of BN's most popular Special Interest Groups, What's On and Big Days Out, club reports, swim and sauna listings.
Don't forget that the magazine and recent past issues are also available for BN members to download in the members' area.

British Naturism Magazine - BN189 Autumn 2011

The autumn 2011 edition (BN 189) is packed with great news, features and travel reports from the world of naturism.
We look back to the biggest and busiest Nudefest ever, with all the action and some great pictures from a terrific week, as well as reporting on the first Great British Skinny Dip weekend. Wouldn't it be great to think that GBSD could grow to be just as successful and popular as Nudefest and bring just as many new faces into naturism?
Talking of new adventures, Clive Edwards reports from Fuerteventura on the first BN Members Holiday - a fine example of where a BN member was willing to take on a project and saw it through to a winning finale.
Cathryn Jiggens concludes her look at naturism and tantra while Howard Anderson has some advice for those of us who prefer to practice our naturism at home, rather than in the clubs.
Our travel features this time focus on long-haul destinations as far apart as the Caribbean and New Zealand while nearer to home, we have all the action from a busy summer of Big Days Out.
Young British Naturists take us to the INF Youth Rally in the south of France and BN's International Officer, Marion Damen, reports from the EuNat Conference in Sweden.
All this together with our comprehensive list of What's On, club reports, swim and sauna listings.
Don't forget that the magazine and recent past issues are also available for BN members to download in the members' area.

British Naturism Magazine - How to submit content, advertise, plus deadline and travel feature information

How to contribute to the Magazine
The best way to make a submission is to use the email address magazine@bn.org.uk. Alternatively, please send items to BN head office (address here), preferably on CD. Microsoft Word is the preferred format for written pieces. Please ensure that digital photographs are 150dpi or larger. Please send pictures separately and not within your text document. As a last resort, please send your contribution on paper, typed if you can. Printed photographs are also acceptable, of course.
All contributions, including photographs, submitted to BN are sent at the owner’s risk and, whilst every care is taken, neither the publishers nor their agents accept liability for loss or damage. Receipt is not normally acknowledged for posted submissions unless a stamped, addressed envelope is enclosed. Photographs should bear the photographer’s name and address, and be accompanied by authorisation to publish signed by all recognisable therein. Our photographer’s model release form is available on request and can also be downloaded from here.
We do not normally publish contributions that do not carry the author’s name, but we are prepared to withhold this if really necessary. Contributions sent anonymously or over false names will be ignored. The editor reserves the right to shorten or amend any item and to refuse or modify any advertisement without giving a reason. No guarantee is given that any advertisement will be inserted in a specified issue, or at all, though every effort will be made to meet advertisers’ wishes. Whilst we are always pleased to receive comments on readers’ letters, with a view to publication, for organisational reasons it is not always possible to forward mail to our contributors.
Disclaimer: Whilst the magazine is concerned with BN’s activities, it also affords a platform for wider views. Opinions expressed editorially or by contributors do not necessarily represent the views of BN, nor is BN responsible for claims made in advertisements.
How to get Editorial
We welcome articles and news items from naturist resorts and other naturist businesses – we feel it is important to provide comprehensive information on the naturist world to our readers, especially when new things are happening. There is no charge for publishing editorial content but please help us to plan our future issues by asking for something to be included as early as possible. Travel features can run outside the specified issue, if space allows. We insist on feature articles, such as holiday reports, being written by happy guests and not the owner or operator. However, in order to bring a new place or business to the attention of our readers, we will publish an article written by the owner or operator on one occasion.
We cannot guarantee that items submitted will be published, nor in the place in the magazine you ask for, but we will always do our best to comply with any individual requests. Articles will not be published without pictures, and in the same way, pictures will not be published without text to accompany them.
Please contact BN’s Commercial Manager Andrew Welch for further information and to discuss time scales, word length, method of submission etc.
For advertisers
If you would like to advertise with British Naturism, in the magazine, on the website, sponsor an event, or any other form of advertising, please email : magazine@bn.org.uk
We will be able to provide you with all the details, rate card and dimension criteria (where applicable).
Magazine submission deadlines
BN magazine is published four times a year – here are the publication deadlines:
Spring – web publication in last week of February, postal distribution in second week of March, deadline for submissions January 1st. Summer – web publication in last week of May, postal distribution in second week of June, deadline for submissions April 1st. Autumn – web publication in last week of August, postal distribution in second week of September, deadline for submissions July 1st. Winter – web publication in last week of November, postal distribution in second week of December, deadline for submissions October 1st. Please note that these are the FINAL dates – please send to us as soon as you can. It is useful if you send a note or email in advance to let us know that you are planning to send or produce something for consideration.
For resorts, or other holiday places, we run a special travel feature in each issue. Contact details can be found on this page.
Next Mini-Features
In each issue of the magazine we will feature travel and holiday articles on a specific part of the world – if you’d like to make a contribution, here’s the schedule:
Spring – Spain and her islands (Balearics and Canaries); Summer – southern Europe and the UK; Autumn – Long-haul destinations and northern Europe; Winter – France and “off the beaten track” – places where you have found naturism in unexpected corners of the world. Deadline and publication dates can be found below so get writing and send the best of your pictures, too. We will receive articles at any time, so don’t wait until just before the appropriate issue to send yours in – in fact for planning purposes, the earlier the better.
To keep the magazine as balanced as possible, we will try to have travel reports outside of the “special” feature in each issue, so if your article does not appear in the issue you have planned it for, don’t worry, it doesn’t follow that it has been abandoned!
If you have any queries, or would like guidance on writing a suitable article, please contact us on magazine@bn.org.uk, or call head Office.

British Naturism Magazine - BN190 Winter 2011

The winter 2011 edition (BN 190) is packed with great news, features and travel reports from the world of naturism. Next year promises to be a very important 12 months in the life of British Naturism. As we report from the 2011 annual meeting, some changes to our structure will not only help BN’s finances but also hopefully enable us to market ourselves better, especially in London and the South-East.
We have our first-ever national convention coming soon, as well. As we reveal in BN 190, this will be a conference and training weekend which replaces the annual clubs and regions meeting and which we hope will give members something different to look forward to.
There are details of the big BN events including Blackpool and another week-long Nudefest, while we have a first glance at the programme of Big Days Out for next summer.
Our travel section covers France and some diverse venues in Northern Europe such as Lithuania and Denmark, while BN’s clubs have been busy writing reports about their 2011 seasons - there is plenty to report!
Our features section includes former BN official photographer Bill Richards on how he went to some extraordinary heights to get a nude picture, while there is also some good advice on how to get your naturist holiday photographs digitally printed by the High Street chains.
All this together with our comprehensive list of What's On, club reports, swim and sauna listings.
Don't forget that the magazine and recent past issues are also available for BN members to download in the members' area.

Our Three Year Plan

Within the EC, we've always had a pretty good idea of what we're doing and where we're going, but know that we don't often communicate it as well as we might. There are also loads of new ideas and challenges coming in all the time, and changes to the world outside naturism that we need to take account of.
Therefore, over the two awaydays (the first was in September 09, and the second in February this year), we took the opportunity - without an agenda or the need for minutes etc. - to discuss only the future by gathering all the ideas and feedback we've had, looking at the parts of the organisation and its activities that need attention, blending in our own ideas, experience and expertise, assessing the changes and challenges we face, and have come up with the 3YP that articulates our aims, shows clearly what we need to be doing and how we intend to achieve results - for everyone. It will take work and we hope that many of you will be inspired to come and help.
It's a very exciting step and we're looking forward to it. Here's to the future!
Download the plan here: http://www.bn.org.uk/community/files/file/334-bn-three-year-plan/

British Naturism's Aims

We will work for greater acceptance of naturism, with more places – private and public – available for our use
We will provide social and networking opportunities, information and assistance
We will work to protect naturism and naturists, and challenge threats to our lifestyle
We will work to provide a safe environment for adults and children to enjoy naturism without ridicule or fear
We will facilitate, coordinate and support naturist activity.
We will set high standards for the integrity of naturism, and monitor and maintain them.
We will ensure that our organisation is best structured to secure the progress of naturism.
We will welcome participation in naturism by all without discrimination.

About British Naturism

About BN
British Naturism (BN) is internationally recognised as the UK’s national naturist organisation. It exists to unite and support naturists, to protect, and provide more naturist venues, to make social nudity acceptable in the UK and to provide comprehensive information on naturism and naturists around the world.
Formation
British Naturism came into being in 1964 when the British Sun Bathing Society and the Federation of British Sun Clubs merged. We are the UK member of the International Naturist Federation (INF), which has similar purposes to ours, but operates across the world. BN is one of 30 member federations in every continent (except Antarctica), 22 of them in Europe. INF also has correspondents in nine other countries, the majority not in Europe.
A volunteer organisation
We have approximately 12,000 individual members and over 100 sun clubs and swim groups who support the aims of the organisation through their subscriptions and receive certain other benefits in return.
British Naturism is a volunteer organisation. Any member (subject only to a minimum period of membership) can stand for election to the Executive Council (EC). We are governed by a constitution. This may, from time to time, be updated at the AGM, at which every member has a vote.
Through work with the media and by lobbying local and national government, BN has in recent years succeeded in raising the public profile of naturism.
Who runs British Naturism?
As mentioned above, British Naturism is run by elected volunteers and a small, paid staff at our Head Office in Northampton.
The Executive Council (the EC) has sixteen members who give their time free, though they can claim expenses for travel etc. It is our board of management, meeting 4 or 5 times a year to discuss questions of policy, administration, finance and marketing, and so forming strategies for the future. Eight members of the EC have specific areas of responsibility – the President, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Sports Officer, International Officer, Youth Officer, Public Relations Officer and Research & Liaison Officer. They are each elected by the whole membership. The other eight are regional representatives, one from each of eight regions. Only members in that region can vote for them. The EC, or the regional committee, as the case may be, has the power to co-opt a member to fill a casual vacancy. Each member of the EC is elected for two years, half the posts being elected each year. Each member of the EC has a vote at meetings.
A Members’ Representative – not an elected post - is appointed by the President to be a point of contact, information and advice to members living in the region they serve. Generally, each region has one, some two, and the Representatives are often people who are on the EC. There is no limit to the time they can serve, in fact, they often only change when a Representative decides not to continue.

In at the Deep End by Robert

“I’ll be back,” writes newcomer Robert Hulme after his first YBN experience.
Unlike many of you who will be reading this I don't come from a naturist family, I don't have any naturist friends and in fact I'd never really looked into naturism. So it came as quite a shock to my friends and family when I announced that I was going along to the YBN gathering in Telford. Nakedness has always been fairly natural to me: whenever I'm alone (and in private!) I'm naked - it just feels a lot more natural than being covered in hot, sweaty clothes, but I've led quite a sheltered life and the number of times I'd seen another person naked could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
I went down to Telford with no real expectations of what it would be like and feeling fairly calm about the whole thing. When I arrived I was quite shocked (surprise, surprise!) to see 20 or 30 naked people (mainly twenty-somethings) around! One in fact came over to me and said hi. It was a bit alarming to begin with...this guy (Joel, I later discovered) helped me to set up my tent and then I got inside and wondered what I was going to do next. I decided that if I was going to be there I ought to do it properly, so I stripped off and covered myself in SPF 50 (I burn very easily). I waited in my tent for as long as I dared, so long in fact that someone came and asked if I was OK.
Eventually, I came out of my tent in all my naked glory (so to speak). It was really quite odd at first being naked around all these people, but after only a few minutes it didn't seem like a big deal - I mean, I did keep noticing that there were naked people everywhere, but I was less and less bothered by it. I think the thing is that it's not being naked that is shocking or surprising or even stimulating, so much as what people are doing at the time. You can look at a high art nude photo and not find it erotic at all - in the same way being naked doesn't automatically result in an 'Oh, my God, everyone is naked!' kind of reaction.
In fact I found that, once I got over the initial surprise of the whole thing, it started to feel pretty natural and normal to be naked around other people. Indeed, looking back it seems a lot more strange for us all to be going around in our clothes. Added to that, it makes you think more realistically about your self-image - I know that I should lose weight (and I want to), but my view of myself is compared against some kind of unrealistic expectation of what I 'should' look like. Seeing what everyone else actually looks like naked helps you (or at least helped me) to have a much more positive view of my own body.
What was really good about the weekend was the company. The people there were really welcoming and friendly - I find it really hard to get to know new people, but it wasn't so hard with these guys.
On the Saturday some of us went off to Water World to swim naked with 400 other naturists! It was pretty amazing, both in terms of the experience of swimming naked (which was very nice and liberating) and also the experience of being there with all the other people. Perhaps I'm going overboard here, but I felt a certain closeness with these people that I don't in general in society. Perhaps it was just because in some sense I belonged to the same group as them (tiddlywinks players, I suspect, feel at home with other tiddlywinks players), but I couldn't help but feel that it was more than that - that by removing their clothing these people were removing other less visible barriers between one another. Perhaps that's crazy talk, I don't know - it was pretty good fun either way.
So my first dip into the world of naturism was, I think, something of a success. A great time spent with great people. I'm hoping to go along to as many YBN events as I can manage, and I'd encourage any other twenty-somethings to come along, too.

A History of Naturism - Timeline

1891 The earliest known naturist club in the world exists in British India. Founded by Charles Edward Gordon Crawford, a widower, who is a District and Sessions Judge for the Bombay Civil Service at Thana. The club's constitution would be acceptable nowadays. His only fellow members are Andrew and Kellogg Calderwood, sons of a missionary. Crawford remarries in 1892 and dies two years later. The club ends about 1892. Its existence has no known influence on later events.
1893 Heinrich Pudor publishes Nackende Menschen: Jauchzen der Zukunst (Naked Mankind: a Leap into the Future), followed in 1906 by two books on Nackt-Kultur (naked culture).
1906 Richard Ungewitter publishes Die Nacktheit (Nakedness) which speedily becomes a best seller.
1912 Marguerite Le Fur publishes "Le Bonheur d'être Nu" in Mercure de France, describing naturism as practised in Germany. Reading about developments in Germany leads Harold Clare Booth to seek information from the German Freya Bund with thoughts of a similar organisation in Britain. Encouragement is given by an article by Bernarr Macfadden, an American, published two years later in Physical Culture, which advocates nudity for children as part of purity in the home.
1914 Booth has a long article on the nude culture movement published in the same magazine. Further letters and articles follow in 1914 and 1915, but the war prevents immediate result.
1921 Revival of public interest in the subject of naturism is slow after the war, but articles begin to appear, written by Dr. Caleb Williams Saleeby and others, in The New Statesman and Health and Efficiency.
1922 Harold Clare Booth, Mark Harold Sorensen and Rex Wellbye found the English Gymnosophist Society for those, mainly men, interested in nude life culture. It meets at the Minerva Cafe in High Holborn. Later renamed the New Gymnosophy Society. By 1926 it meets in Cheapside, London, circulating its own journal and arranging public lectures advocating nudism.
1924 May The Sunlight League, founded by Dr. Saleeby, with its own journal, Sunlight, advocates sunbathing. Saleeby has since 1921 been publishing articles in The New Statesman about the benefits of sunlight.
1924 The Moonella Group, formed from members of the New Gymnosophy Society, begins to use land, which they call The Camp, at Wickford, Essex. This is the first club to exist in Britain. They have strict rules and members have to use club names, Moonella being the club name of the landowner. The club closes in 1926 because of building on adjacent land.
1925 Captain Harold Hubert Vincent, cashiered from the army in 1918, founds the Sun Ray Club, publicly preaches nudism and proposes a march through Hyde Park by 200 naked men and women. He acquires several convictions for soliciting donations, using insulting words etc.
1926 At the end of 1926 a site, found by Booth, is, with the help of a Derbyshire benefactor, bought at Bricket Wood in Hertfordshire and opened for use in May 1927. There are nine original members drawn from the Moonella Group and the site is at first also called The Camp. By 1931 it has developed into a club, named Fouracres, with an elected committee.
1927 The Sun Bathing Society is founded by Barford, who also publishes Sun Bathing Review, to promote the practice of active sun and air bathing among families and young children, using the new scanty bathing costumes. The summer heatwave in 1928 encourages public tolerance. He wins influential support and organises regular meetings at Sun Lodge in Upper Norwood, South London. The five annual conferences of the Society receive favourable publicity. For several years the Sun Bathing Society organises successful lectures and meetings in London in the winter, Barford gives opportunities for those who wish to progress from bathing costumes to nudity and many do so.
1927 An English translation of Suren's Man and Sunlight is published with the approval of Dean Inge, Dean of St. Paul's, who declares that "The new freedom of the body which is sweeping Europe is a splendid omen of increasing health".
1928 Charles & Dorothy Macaskie purchase 12 acres of land in Bricket Wood, which they call Spielplatz, They go to live there the next year and by 1930 are inviting friends to join them.
1930 The owner of land at a reservoir near the Welsh Harp in Hendon, Middlesex, where there has since 1921 been limited sunbathing, modelled on practice in Germany and Switzerland, allows young unemployed people to use shacks on his property for sunbathing. Press publicity attracts others to join them but also stirs up public opposition. In June about 250 sunbathers, some of them nude, are mobbed by a crowd of 200 people who invade the private land. Some at least of the 250 are members of Vincent's Sun Ray Club. Both police and press give some support to the sunbathers, and more people join the group as a result.
1930 Sep The Sun Ray Club and New Health Society is formed, becoming in 1931 the National Sun and Air Association. It immediately begins a national advertising campaign, as well as running a popular gymnasium at Westbourne Grove, and later an indoor club at Cricklewood, both in London. It ceases to meet about 1940.
1930 Booth finds a site at Sunhill near Sidcup in Kent, and this becomes the Arcadians Club which continues until at least 1945.
1931 Among the Nudists by an American couple, Frances & Mason Merrill published in London. It gives a full and fair account of nudism at that time, though England naturally receives little attention. It is the first of several books of varying worth on nudism, published in the 1930s.
1931 The Yew Tree Club is opened, under the auspices of the Sunbathing Society, at Croydon, Surrey. Mornings are at first devoted to physical culture and nudity is allowed on part of the site in the afternoon, but the club gradually becomes completely nudist.
1931-32 Health & Efficiency, originally a health and fitness magazine, becomes entirely nudist.
1932 Mar A letter is published in The Times, in support of Barford's Sun Bathing Society, demanding facilities for air bathing on decent and wholesome lines. Signatories include C.E.M.Joad, George Bernard Shaw, Laurence Housman, Julian Huxley, Vera Britain and Beverley Nichols amongst other well-known names of the period.
1933 Woodside in the Isle of Wight opens as a naturist holiday resort. Barford founds Sun Bathing Review, which he edits until 1938, It continues publication until 1959.
1934 The Lotus League owned by Mrs. Denise Bedingfield, operates in Finchley until 1939. Before moving to Finchley it was called the League of Light.
1936 The Sun Bathing Society is so successful that, when 21 clubs exist, Barford disbands it, believing that it has to a great extent fulfilled its purpose. If the Society had continued its propaganda would public attitudes have been more favourable than they have been and would naturism in Britain have won a standing similar to that enjoyed in France and Germany?
1937 Membership of the National Sun & Air Association is 2,350, and it has an office in London with a secretary and a typist. Many clubs founded under its inspiration show their origin by the words "Sun and Air" in their names.
1943 Feb The British Sun Bathing Society is formed, on the initiative of the Arcadians Club (of Sunhill), with both club and individual (associate) members. The first AGM is held that October, when 23 clubs are members. By the next AGM there are 615 associate members.
1949 Sheplegh Court in Devon opens as a naturist hotel. It finally closes about 1987.
1951 Festival of Naturism held at North Kent Sun Club, coinciding with the Festival of Britain
1951 Sep BSBA organise an international conference in London, attended by worldwide naturist leaders. A further conference agreed to be held in Switzerland in 1952, so leading to the formation of the International Naturist Federation.
1953 Oct Ten clubs not affiliated to BSBA hold a Conference of Sun Clubs at the Cora Hotel in London.
1954 Apr The Federation of British Sun Clubs is inaugurated by thirteen clubs at a meeting at the Kenilworth Hotel.
1957 Garden of Eden, a film made in association with the American Sunbathing Association in 1955, released in Britain. According to the National Film Bulletin it shows disarming incompetence, astonishing amateurishness and oozes sweetness and light.
1958 Aug The sixth INF Congress held in the grounds of Woburn Abbey, the Duke of Bedford's house.
1958 Nudist Paradise is the first British film to be generally released. Filmed at Spielplatz and Woburn, the Duke of Bedford provides the prologue. The National Film Bulletin says it is inept, the editing incompetent and its motives rather suspect.
1960 Travelling Light, the first genuine British naturist film, is released. It is produced by Michael Keatering [pseudonym of Craven Walker].
1961 BSBA Annual Conference agrees that the term nudist is inappropriate and should be discarded in favour of naturist.
1962 Feb BSBA and FBSC each agree to make arrangements for the union of their organisations as a club controlled organisation, to take effect in 1964.
1964 May Member clubs of both organisations, meeting at the Royal Hotel, London, agree to their union on 1st July under the name of Central Council for British Naturism. 72 clubs are members by the time of the AGM in September.
1965 Adventurers Sun Club is the first to obtain permission from a local authority to hire a public bath, at Maidstone, Kent, for naturist use.
1970 Aug The 12th INF Congress held at North Kent Sun Club
1978 Hastings Borough Council approve the first naturist beach in Britain, at Fairlight Cove. The 16th INF Congress held at South Hants Sun Club
1979 Jan "Let's Go Naked" an unbiased and well researched programme about naturism at home and abroad shown on BBC1 Irvine (soon lost) and Stevenston in Ayrshire, Cleat's Shore on the Isle of Arran, Corton Beach near Lowestoft, Swalecliffe near Whitstable and Leysdown in the Isle of Sheppey are also approved as naturist beaches.
1980 Apr A beach on Brighton front opened for naturist use without ceremony, having been approved by Brighton Council the year before. On the same day Fraisthorpe near Bridlington is opened for naturists.
1982 Adam Clapham and Robin Constable write As Nature Intended, following an unbiased programme on naturism on BBC TV.
1995 CCBN employs a Parliamentary lobbyist.
1998 The AGM of CCBN agrees by a large majority that national officers are to be elected by popular vote of all members. Extended in 1999 to election of Regional Councillors.
1999 Naturist relay team swims the Channel. Similar events in later years around the Isle of Wight and along Loch Ness.
2000 Morfa Dyffryn near Barmouth approved as a naturist beach - the first in Wales.
2002 Persil request CCBN sponsorship for their product
2003 Apr Chairman of CCBN gives evidence to the Home Affairs Committee of the House of Commons in connection with the Sexual Offences Bill.
2004 CCBN employs a Commercial Manager, and then an Advertising Manager.
2005 Bare Britain, describing beaches, clubs and venues, published by Lifestyle Press Ltd..in association with CCBN. Open naturist day held at Abbey House Gardens, Malmesbury (since repeated more than once each year). A national charity is recommended for support by members (since repeated each year)
2006 Naturist evening at York Maize Maze and garden party at Castle Howard. Alton Towers organises a naturist weekend. (These events are repeated in subsequent years.)
2007 Eden Project in Cornwall hosts a naturist evening, organised by Red Letter Days, a commercial company. CCBN organises an accompanying "Nudefest" weekend at a nearby campsite. (Nudefest is repeated in following years.)
2008 Naturist story lines appear in some TV series and some TV presenters show support for naturism.
2009 Central Council for British Naturism (CCBN) changes its name to British Naturism (BN).
2010 British Naturism is formed as a company limited by guarantee to take the place of the association founded in 1964. It remains a members' organisation.
2014 BN celebrates its 50th Anniversary.
With apologies for the inevitable errors and omissions.

A History of Naturism

The Moonella Group
The first club with any kind of established home was founded near Wickford in Essex in the late summer of 1924. The club adopted the name of the Moonella Group from the club name of the owner of the ground, and called its site The Camp. Moonella, who was still living in 1965 but whose identity remains to be discovered, had inherited a house and land, heavily mortgaged, and in 1923 made it available to certain members of the New Gymnosophy Society.
The Society had been founded a few years before by H.C. Booth, M.H. Sorensen and Rex Wellbye under the name of the English Gymnosophical Society. It met for discussions at the Minerva Cafe at 144 High Holborn in London, the headquarters of the Women's Freedom League.
Those who were permitted to join the Moonella Group were carefully selected, and the club was run by an "aristocracy" of the original members, all of whom had club names, Chong and Lorelli (Mark Harold Sorensen and his wife Helen Morley Sorensen), Flang or fflang (Harold Clare Booth), Gart, Moonella, Thwang (Roland Berrill), Tob (Mr. L.B.) and Zex (Rex Wellbye).
Some of the group's rules are familiar in later naturist clubs, for example that the identity of members must not be revealed to others, that photographs and sketches must not be made without the approval of the committee and the subject, and that the location of the club site must not be revealed to others. In other ways the example of this club has not been so closely followed. The Committee had virtually all power in its hands and was self perpetuating. A member was known, for example, as The Noble Flang or the Gracious Moonella. They were even instructed how to write to one another, beginning "To the Noble Chong, greeting" and ending with a wish without verb or subject, for example "Blue Sky", followed by the signature. The wearing of sandals and headbands of brilliant colours was encouraged, provided that were in Greek rather than oriental style. Jewellery was discouraged. Care had to be taken to avoid complimenting visitors and members upon their beauty. The club kept an attendance book, which in 1965 was still in the possession of Mark Sorensen. He died in 1974 - where is it now?
Before the end of the 1925 season the Moonella Group had to close. There is mention of building on adjacent land making it impossible to use the grounds. The members were without a site until in May 1927 Fouracres at Bricket Wood near St. Albans, which was at first also called "The Camp", was acquired in its place, with the help of a Derbyshire benefactor - but that is another story.
Harold Booth died in 1943, Rex Wellbye in 1963. Could any members of the Moonella Group still be living?

How the split came to pass
The British Sun Bathing Society had been formed in February 1943, a surprising initiative in the dark days of the war. It took the place of the National Sun and Air Society, founded in 1930, which had been highly successful in the 1930s, but ceased to meet or exist about 1940. BSBA was a club organisation, but from the beginning it also enrolled associate members, soon renamed subscribers and then registered subscribers. Naturists are individualistic people and, as every other naturist organisation, BSBA suffered internal dissension. Problems came to a head in 1953. The previous AGM had agreed to employ Arthur Hodgson as full-time paid General Secretary at ?300 p.a. At the September 1953 AGM it was agreed to reorganise the registered subscriber section with limited voting rights and to appoint a small committee to revise the constitution, which was long out of date. An additional factor was that Frank Mitchell of Sheplegh Court condemned BSBA as a nudist organisation, demanding that the nudist President be dismissed and that it should in future use only the term "naturist".
Against this background, in January 1953 a meeting of clubs that were not members of BSBA was called by the North Kent Sun Club at the Bonnington Hotel. Fifteen clubs attended, but the meeting was generally inconclusive. In October 1953, under the sponsorship of David Johnson, Editor of H.& E., an informal meeting of non-affiliated clubs, under the title Conference of Sun Clubs, was called at the Cora Hotel in London. The meeting was convened by Jim Butterfield of Diogenes, Andy Jepsen of the Kent Regional Sunbathing Association and Rod Martin of Sunfolk, and was chaired by Wallace Arter. Ten clubs attended. This led the following March to the formulation of a new constitution, which the BSBA committee revising the constitution refused to adopt. BSBA then, in its turn, invited discussion of their draft revised constitution, which was also refused. The emotions of the time are well represented in a report published in The Grove, the North Kent Sun Club newsletter in April 1953, which stated that "certain BSBA officers are so far out of sympathy with the aims and object and constitution of the Association ... that they are actively working to somersault BSBA into an organisation of individuals." The same article objected that BSBA had a full-time paid Secretary. North Kent also asked the Administration Committee of BSBA to call a special general meeting "with an open agenda", a motion that was rejected.
The Federation of British Sun Clubs was accordingly inaugurated at a meeting at the Kenilworth Hotel on 25th April 1954, again under the chairmanship of Wallace Arter. After much discussion a constitution was adopted. Rod Martin was reluctantly elected as Chairman, Dave Jenkinson of North Kent as Secretary and John Sherwood of Nottingham as Treasurer. Initial membership was the thirteen clubs which attended the meeting. Three others sent apologies and another four attended as observers.

The Path to Unity
It was not long before the two organisations realised that they were duplicating some of one another's work and voices were raised urging cooperation. At the 1959 AGM of FBSC Surrey Downs urged better relations with BSBA and the Secretary was instructed to make enquiries from BSBA. The Vice-Chairman, Frank Mitchell, queried the possibility of amalgamation, but his seemed to be a lone voice. In January 1960 a slight improvement in relations was reported, but the Chairman advised that it must not be rushed. By the 1960 AGM a meeting had been held between representatives of the two organisations, but this was only an exploratory meeting to discover what differences existed and to put them forward for further consideration. No positive result was forthcoming. Kent Region protested against any negotiation with the BSBA if Hugh Shayler was representing them. The Secretary agreed to suggest that BSBA should make changes in their delegation. Springwood advised that negotiations should be only with the Clubs Section of BSBA. At the same time BSBA agreed to endorse the action of its officers in opening discussions with FBSC and hoped that further discussions would take place. The BSBA General Secretary, Arthur Hodgson, reported to the annual conference that BSBA had been prepared to meet the Federation, but it was the latter who had not yet been able to offer a date to meet their own convenience. He regretted that FBSC had broken away and would welcome any move that would bring them back within BSBA ranks.
In 1961 the BSBA annual conference unanimously approved a resolution, originated by the Sunlanders Youth Group, deploring the continued unsatisfactory relationship between BSBA and FBSC and instructing the Central Committee to pursue energetically all practicable steps to solve outstanding difficulties. At the AGM Arthur Hodgson regretted that negotiations with FBSC about closer cooperation had not yet made any progress, though there had been some collaboration at both national and local levels.
So far thoughts on both sides had been simply to improve relations and to eliminate overlapping work. In 1961, however, the FBSC AGM resolved to invite the BSBA Clubs Section to merge with it under a mutually agreed constitution. Muriel Clark, President of BSBA, said at the 1961 AGM that she wished to see an understanding reached and intended to do her best to achieve it. Dorothy Thornton welcomed the change of climate at FBSC resulting from a change of officers, since there was now a basis for cooperation and officials on both sides were prepared to listen to each other. She referred presumably to the election in 1960 of Jack Watkins as Chairman of FBSC in place of Ted Coleman. Unfortunately Muriel Clark died in December, being succeeded by Dorothy Thornton. In February 1962 the BSBA Cental Committee were told that discussions had commenced between Headquarters representatives of FBSC and BSBA, that the position had been carefully examined and arrangements made for a further meeting. The Federation is recorded as complaining that Denys Rendell was a representative of BSBA in the discussions. As with Hugh Shayler no reason for the objection is stated. About the same time Jack Watkins told the FBSC Central Council that exploratory meetings had been held with BSBA officers and that some headway had been made. It was agreed to invite Dorothy Thornton, Arthur Hodgson and John Rowlinson, the Editor of Verity, to the FBSC AGM.
A breakthrough happened on 19 August 1962 at a meeting of the Negotiating Committee when Jack Watkins reported a proposal by an unnamed "staunch supporter of BSBA" that a recommendation should be made to the Annual Conferences of both organisations that arrangements should be undertaken for the union of the BSBA and the FBSC as a club controlled organisation, that the effective date of the union should be no later than 1964 when a meeting of club delegates of all known approved sun clubs should be held to determine its constitution and elect its first officers. Preliminary arrangements were to be discussed between the officers of the organisations during 1963. This resolution was unanimously approved at both the FBSC AGM and the BSBA AGM in September 1962.
The Unity Committee first met on 18th November. Initial membership of nine from each side was promptly reduced to four. By the fourth meeting in June 1963 a draft constitution had been produced. Two further meetings followed in 1964, followed by the formal unity meeting of all member clubs of both organisations, held at the Royal Hotel, Woburn Place, London, on Sunday May 10th. Erik Holm, President of the INF, attended as guest of honour. The constitution was accepted unanimously by both sets of member clubs and it was agreed that vesting day would be 1st July 1964, the first AGM being held on 13th September at East Midlands. The principal officers of each organisation were assigned places in the new CCBN, Frank Mitchell (FBSC) being President, Dorothy Thornton (BSBA) Vice-President, Jack Watkins (FBSC) Chairman, and Keith Pickering (BSBA) Vice-Chairman. Roy Lambert (FBSC) became General Secretary, George Hulm (BSBA) Treasurer and Peter Fallows (FBSC) Editor.
The Executive Council of the new organisation met prematurely at Diogenes on 14th June (since CCBN did not yet exist) and again on the eve of the AGM. Membership of the Supporters Section Committee was agreed. Roy Lambert as Secretary would move to a caravan in the grounds of North Kent and a portable office building would be bought for his use. Sport and Sunshine, the FBSC magazine, became the model for the new magazine, to be called British Naturism, a title in which BSBA representatives were not consulted. Neville Payne was coopted to the Central Council as News Secretary and George Carter as Assistant Secretary. Supporter Section fees were to be 25s a year for married couples, 20s for single persons. At the first AGM the remaining officers were elected - Ron Cox, Overseas, Bob Turnbull, PRO, and Douglas Gibson, Research & Liaison. Member clubs were to pay 1s 6d per head for adult membership.
At the time of unity there were 23 clubs members of BSBA, 25 members of FBSC and 15 members of both. In addition three "recognised" clubs and six others are listed. Fifty clubs were represented at the Unity meeting. By September the number had already risen to 72, plus two affiliated societies. New found unity was proving popular.

The Fellowship of the Naked Trust
What was probably the earliest naturist club existed in 1891, not in this country, France or Germany, but in British India. It is described in a series of letters sent by Charles Edward Gordon Crawford, a member of the Bombay Civil Service, working at Thana, to Edward Carpenter, a well-known writer on social subjects, who had rejected Victorian conventions.
The club required members to go stark naked wherever suitable and to encourage others to do the same. It also required them to be plainspoken when desirable on sexual and other subjects usually tabooed, and to discourage unnecessary reticence about such subjects in others. The motto of the club was Vincat Natura (Let Nature Win) and the club badge consisted of these words and the initials of the club. There were no officers, though there could be a Secretary and a Chairman for the day. Anyone could be admitted who was vouched for by two members and was willing to obey the rules. At meetings all must be stark naked except for rings, eyeglasses and false teeth! Women must wear their hair loose without ribbons, combs or hairpins and they must not wear rouge or powder. Sectarian and political discussion was forbidden. Anyone guilty of indecency was subject to suspension or expulsion. Acts of indecency were defined as wearing clothes at a meeting, gestures or acts of personal contact giving offence to the opposite sex, indecent assault at or following a meeting, even with the consent of the other party, and consenting to indecent assault. The mode of handshake on greeting was even prescribed. Women who did not feel able to attend meetings could be Outside Members, conforming to all the rules and wearing the badge. No man could be an Outside Member. Crawford asked for his name to be treated confidentially since "for personal reasons it would be inconvenient for it to be associated with these views - so easily misrepresented - by those who are opposed to them." (Have we ever heard similar fears expressed nowadays?)
Such a constitution would surely have qualified the club for election to CCBN provided the Overseas Region was prepared to recommend it! It is surprising, however, that this carefully organised club turns out to have consisted of only three persons, Crawford, a widower since November 1886, a District and Sessions Judge, and Andrew Calderwood and his brother, Kellogg Calderwood, sons of a missionary.
Apparently Carpenter expressed sympathy with their ideals, for two months later Crawford writes again, with a statement of motives, now added to the rules. The motives are in fact reasons for nakedness. Physically, given a suitable temperature, it is good for the body to be exposed to the air and no costume has been invented equal in comfort to perfect nakedness; morally, because false shame of our own bodies and morbid curiosity as to those of the opposite sex, which result from always wearing clothes, are the chief sources of impurity; and aesthetically, because the human body is God's noblest work, and it is good for everyone to gaze on such beauty freely.
Crawford had always had a passion for nakedness, but had found no one of similar mind until he met the Calderwood brothers in November 1890. His ideal was a state of society in which clothes would be worn or not as convenient "without reference to the conventionalities which at present rule the roost". They knew one young lady who was in sympathy, but was not prepared to be even an outside member on account of what people would think. He was writing an essay, which unfortunately does not survive, dealing pretty fully with F.N.T. ideals.
In a later letter he welcomed the suggestion that women should form branches of their own, a thing he had always wanted, though Calderwood did not want to encourage timidity too much. The last letter, in June 1892, reveals that Crawford was planning to marry again. He had not yet spoken of the F.N.T. to the lady, though she fully shared his "democratic impulses". Andrew Calderwood was planning to make his future in British Columbia. Carpenter had written to him about people in Vienna and Munich who in some way shared Crawford's ideas, and he enquires whether "they go as far as we do in our particular direction". (Nothing has so far been discovered about these people.
Crawford did indeed marry again, in August 1892, to Florence Ethel Willis, but died in May 1894. His son, by his first marriage, Osbert Guy Stanhope Crawford, became a prominent archaeologist and author, but probably knew nothing of his father's club in India.

Diving In by Matt

It was a year ago that my parents first told me they were going to a naturist club on a Friday night. Until then I had been under the impression that they were just going swimming: watching the waistline like most parents. After a few experiences of naturism on holiday in Europe, they decided to take a deep breath and take off all their clothes in slightly less exotic Chepstow. It was here, on this Friday, that I had my first naturist experience. I went in with all of the fears, worries and doubts that probably swirl through most people’s heads at the thought of getting naked in public. What if people stare at me? What if I can't stop staring at other people? What if anyone I know finds out?
Other than people finding out, none of these things happened. As soon as the evening was over I knew that it didn't matter who knew or what they thought. From 16-year-old girls to 60-year-old men and everything in between, people were sharing stories, experiences and just having fun. There was no sense of being judged and no means by which to judge others. Looking at a person in the street, you have all sorts of ideas about them before you get anywhere near a conversation. You look at their clothes, their hair, their shoes. We are all guilty of looking at people and slotting them into little boxes without a thought about the person underneath the shell. Walking into the pool on Friday night there was no way to make these judgments. Everyone was a blank canvas of skin and wet, flattened hair, and it meant that I spoke to people that I never would have done outside the club and would have been much the poorer for it.
In the first paragraph I used the word ‘club’. This is one of the most illuminating words that I can think of to describe naturism. As well as it literally being a club, there is a real sense of community. There were people there from other groups as well as regulars to the Chepstow Fridays. One of the topics of conversation that kept coming up was all the events that people had been to or had planned. I find it truly inspirational that there are people out there who have interests outside the mainstream, but are willing to get together and do it anyway. It is also by no means a closed society. I knew nobody there before that night, and by the end I felt perfectly comfortable to sit and talk with anyone.
As the night drew to a close, I happened to be quicker than most getting dressed to join the real world. Standing there in my jeans and jacket, looking at the room of people still towelling off, I felt more self-conscious than I had all night. Stepping back into the Welsh drizzle and back to the car, I was smiling. Not because I felt embarrassed or cheap, like I was expecting to, but because I felt free. Free to do what I wanted and just be myself, without having to answer to anybody else’s ideas of what was and wasn't 'acceptable'.

A new and a-maze-ing experience by Mike

Sitting on a towel on a bench, squinting uncomfortably into the sun to see the band playing on the bus, and suddenly realising you’re naked is something you’d normally expect to be a dream, but it wasn’t a dream, it was Saturday night’s reality. These moments of odd realisation were dispersed throughout the evening at random rather than regular intervals, and although always surprising, were never shocking.
We’d come, Beth and I, to our first naturist event, having seen an advert for the York Maize Maze, which listed amongst the events the Naked Maze Night, and having been intrigued did a little research to discover that it actually meant what it said. We discussed the idea of going, neither of us shy of nudity, and both of us always having been idly interested in the idea of naturism and we decided it would be an opportunity too good to miss for our first try at this unusual activity.
This gave us four days to contemplate what it was we were intending to do, and those four days were full of excited conversations about what it would be like and about our concerns over the event. We had no experience or knowledge to guide us, and our greatest fears were centred on our doing something which, out of our ignorance, would offend others or embarrass ourselves.
I had a conversation, by e-mail, with BN, which was wonderfully reassuring, and patient with my constant questioning, expressing fears about body image, potential embarrassment, photography and so on. My feelings were now very positive, and made me feel that we would be amongst a very warm and welcoming group of people on Saturday.
I also spent these four days on-line, looking at naturist resources to learn what I could about etiquette so as to minimise the risk of doing something inappropriate. Happily what I discovered what all pretty much common sense, except the need to take a towel to sit on. Obvious perhaps, when you think about it, but I don’t think it would have occurred to us otherwise.
The build up on Saturday involved planning when we would go, what we would need to take, and what we would do about food, and unsure about whether there would be food available to purchase at the maze we took a trip out to buy some picnic type food for dinner and insect repellent - I am much beloved by biting insects.
As we approached the Maze, driving ever more slowly the closer we approached, we began assessing the weather, and wondering if it was going to rain, and how perhaps that would mean we would have to abort the expedition.
We were both of us growing more nervous as we approached the entrance to the car-park, and only my insistence on not giving in to fear kept me going.
We imagined that we would park, enter the site, and undress in a tent or other facility, and then exit these safe confines for the uncertain naked world outside, and as we imagined this process, and this moment, crossing the threshold between the two, the line that demarcates normality and the strangeness of public nakedness we were about to cross our fear and anxiety grew.
As we drove into the car park we saw people getting undressed at their cars, and many others already naked; walking around, chatting, waving to friends, and most of our anxieties drifted away. We parked, got out of the car, and without pause or ceremony we just stripped off and made our way to the entrance, completely forgetting to apply the insect repellent...
Perhaps the most surprising thing for me was that with the shedding of my clothes, I shed all my fears and anxieties, and it happened in just a moment, that moment. Anxious, pants off, not anxious any more. What a strange thing. Almost as if it was the clothes themselves which had some power over me and through some insidious influence were trying to prevent me from disrobing, and then, free from their influence I was liberated as humans must have been across the world before clothes were invented.
We queued briefly to enter with other naked people, which seemed perfectly normal, we paid members of staff at the maze (many of whom were about the site) who were fully clothed, which seemed normal, and we strolled about briefly getting our bearings. The sight of so many naked people, probably more than I have seen in my life, was not in the least strange or surprising; it seemed perfectly normal, as though an ancient race memory was awakened in me, and I knew somehow, deep down, that is this how we were meant to be.
We spent the early part of the evening wandering the maze, and for most of the time completely forgot we were naked. There were moment of realisation, as suddenly it dawned on me that I was naked, but as I said right at the beginning this was never shocking, but rather, joyous. People we met were friendly and chatty, and the maze provided a convenient focus for conversation. The only problem we had was a farmer in a nearby field harvesting his wheat (I think) and throwing up a lot of dust, this meant that the air was full of choking debris at that end of the maze.
Walking around naked felt not only perfectly natural, and I never felt self-conscious even though I was much more aware of my own body than normal. The breeze on bare skin was refreshing and invigorating. I’m not a religious person at all, but the experience was oddly spiritual and healing, as though some of the ravages of age were being undone, perhaps it was a return to a more innocent age, when as a child I ran about naked in the garden, or with friends playing in the woods.
We completed the maze, and Beth did heroically, being 7 ½ months pregnant and growing more tired by the minute, so we headed out and found a place to sit and eat our picnic. This gave us pause to reflect and discuss our experience.
There were many things which had surprised us during this walk around the maze, but for me, probably the most surprising was how non-sexual it was. BN had told me that the experience is non-sexual, and I had read this many times while doing my research in the days before the event, and although I was happy to accept the wisdom of those experienced in the field I still had a small doubt: “How can an activity that involves everyone being naked be so completely non-sexual?” After all we live in a culture where nudity is rarely acceptable, and the context in which it is most acceptable is a sexual one, added to which is always the concern that even if it is not sexual for you, maybe it will be for me. I shouldn’t have worried though, the wise were.. well wise, and it was only my ignorance that maintained this doubt. Despite being naked, amongst many other naked people, of both genders, of all ages , shapes and sizes, the experience remained non-sexual, and I can honestly say that sexual thoughts were completely absent from my mind the entire time.
Probably the next most surprising thing was my aesthetic reaction. I am used to seeing classical and renaissance sculptures of nudes, but they tend to be depictions of beautiful bodies, be it Donatello, Michelangelo, Giambologna, Cellini, or others, and I was concerned that in all likelihood there would be a cross section of society present which would include children, old people, fat people, thin people, beautiful people, ugly people and so on, and that I would find being exposed to this naked cross section aesthetically challenging, that I would appreciate the beauty where I found it, but be disturbed and repelled by the ugliness where that resided, but this was also not the case.
What I learned during this adventure was that the human body is beautiful in all its forms, whether young or old, beautiful or ugly in the conventional sense, and despite my previous qualms I encountered no ugliness, and found only beauty. I don’t want to give the impression that I was wandering around assessing people critically, I certainly wasn’t; aesthetic reactions are, for the most part, emotional rather than intellectual, and they are present unconsciously without need for intent.
Another oddity was my hands; I didn’t know where to put them. I had no pockets to put them in, no belt to hook my thumbs in, and not liking to fold my arms across my chest I often felt unsure what to do with them. This wasn’t so much a problem when walking, but when stopped, reading the clues in the maze, or chatting to people they felt awkward. Something you get used to I suppose.
While reflecting on these things we sat and watched people coming and going, and listened to the band, but as Beth was growing uncomfortable (not with the nudity but with the physical conditions because of her pregnancy) we decided to start heading home.
We stopped in on the pigs, who looked as content as any creatures can be and clearly natural naturists, before making our way to the shop where we bought some postcards and sweet corn (organically grown in the maze). Finally we stopped at the BN stall where we had a very pleasant conversation with Pat Thompson, of BN, who made us feel very welcome, and gave us introductory packs for BN.
And then it was all over, back at the car we dressed, rather reluctantly, and headed for home, discussing our experiences on the way. I can happily report though that we were not punished for our forgetfulness regarding the insect repellent, and as far as I am aware neither of us was bitten. The only downside of the whole experience is that I now resent wearing clothes and can’t wait to take them off again.
The question now is “What’s next?” We both enjoyed the experience, and although we expected that we would, we had enjoyed it more than we had imagined. The first thing is to find a nearby club where we could explore this activity a little more, and get to know some people who have been involved for a while from whom we can get advice and assistance. This is complicated a little by Beth’s pregnancy, she will be giving birth in a few weeks and so that limits what we will be able to do for a while, and I hope this doesn’t cause us to lose our impetus. I think we’ll look at clubs near York, where we live, and see what the membership requirements are, and how we might go about applying.
I would recommend this activity to anyone, and if you are thinking about giving it a go please do. You’ll likely find that all the worries and concerns are phantoms, soon exorcised when you cross that threshold for the first time

A new and a-maze-ing experience by Beth

Recently I attended my first naturist event. It took place at York’s Maize Maze on a sunny Saturday night in July.
I had seen an advert for the maze, which mentioned some special events, including “Naked Maze Night”. This intrigued me, so not quite believing that this could be what it seemed to be, investigated further. It turned out that this was indeed a naturist event, and one that was open to people like me who had never done this before.
Having discussed this with my husband and a friend we decided that this was something we wanted to try. None of us are shy and we all believe that the human body is a natural thing, not something disgusting to be hidden away.
Mike and I discussed this lots in the days running up to the event (we only found out about it on the Tuesday before) and lots of questions and issues occurred to us, from simple things such as “can we wear shoes?” to more complicated issues such as “what happens if we meet someone we know?”.
On Saturday the weather looked uncertain and rain was forecast for the evening. We had a perfect excuse not to go; after all who wants to trudge around a maze in the rain? Since this was our first time though neither of us felt we should give up so easily. Accordingly we made our way to the maze feeling apprehensive but excited.
Driving into the car-park was odd because there were lots of naked people walking around. I had expected, naively, that we would go into the event and then go off somewhere to get undressed, probably separately from Mike. I think that this was because I had equated this to going swimming, as the most naked thing that I had done before.
We parked and after one last look at each other to see if we were going to back out of this we got out of the car. We got undressed without ceremony, having noted that there were people wearing shoes and deciding to do likewise, and made our way to the entrance. I found that this had made getting undressed much easier, as we were still together and also protected by the car. Around us people were greeting friends and catching up on news and it seemed unremarkable that they were all naked.
Neither of us had been to the maze before, so having paid our entrance fee and gone into the site we paused to gather our bearings. The maze stretched out below us with numbers marking locations to be visited and towers to climb to help get your bearings. Near the entrance were various other activities that were available, from giant football to animals to stroke.
Walking around all of this were people in varying stages of undress, mostly naked but with a few still partly or fully clothed. The sight was quite natural and most of my doubts had disappeared along with my clothes.
There was quite a sense of camaraderie as we and various other groups who had entered at a similar time crossed paths again and again, stopping every so often to compare notes on where to go next. Another set of concerns had been that I would be unable to stop staring at people and that they would stare at me. I found that neither were a problem as we chatted away quite normally. We looked at each other, of course, as would be normal when meeting people clothed, but there was no sense of being ogled.
One thing that I did find disconcerting as we wandered round was of being very aware of my bottom. I had thought that it would be my breasts, tummy (I was then 7½ months pregnant) or genitals that would concern me, but at no point were any of these an issue, my bottom on the other hand dominated my thoughts for quite a while. I’m still not sure why this was the case, but I think it may be because it is a part of myself that I don’t get to see and so don’t really know how it looks and having it exposed for the first time made me wonder what people were thinking.
Another concern that I had was about sexual feelings. This turned out to be another area where I had worried needlessly. Although surrounded by naked people it was not an erotic experience in any way. Those around me were beautiful in many ways but I felt no arousal being around them. I also felt no sexual stimulation from my own nudity. There were new experiences as the sun and breeze touched newly exposed areas but, although pleasant, this was not sexual in any way.
We made it round the maze and found somewhere to sit and eat our picnic. By this point we both felt completely relaxed about the experience and decided that this was definitely something we wanted to do again. After listening to the band, who like us were first-time nudists, for a little while we made our way to the British Naturism stand to look for more information. Taking an application form and information pack away with us we made our way back to the car, got dressed and left.
I spoke to my husband about the experience and, as I said to him, I think it can be summed up as “bizarrely normal”.

A Whole New World by Jenny

Martin and I had seen an advert for a naturist holiday in America and discussed that when funds allowed us we would like to go. At this point in time we were unaware of organisations such as the YBN or naturist clubs and that they existed in the UK. Looking back, I am not sure why this type of holiday appealed to us so much. I think it just looked so relaxing to be in the sun without any clothes on.
On an evening at the pub with Debbie, a close friend I have known since school, I brought up the subject of going on a naturist holiday. I wasn’t nervous talking to Debbie about this as we talk about anything. Debbie went quiet for a bit and then said she had something to tell me. She told me she was a naturist and had been all her life. Her family are naturists, she met her boyfriend through naturism and had only ever been on one or two ‘textile’ holidays, one of which was with me.
Debbie had been advised by her family to keep her lifestyle as a naturist secret because of the many misconceptions and prejudices, which, to a certain extent I can now understand. However, I didn’t think any less of her and asked straight away if Martin and myself could go with her to a YBN meet. YBN was a group she had become increasingly involved with and it sounded a lot of fun.
Martin and I are both open-minded people and are willing to try new things so we were keen to experience naturism, if anything, just to say we had tried it. People ask if either of us needed any persuasion but I think if this was the case we wouldn’t have gone through with it, as it is definitely something you have to feel comfortable with. Getting into naturism for me has been made very easy by Debbie and Martin and I understand how hard it could be for someone who wants to experience it but are either approaching it alone or don’t know anyone already involved.
We went to a few non-naturist events with YBN members including a weekend at Butlins and a weekend at a youth hostel in Epping Forest. We met some really friendly people all of whom made us feel very at ease and kept assuring us there was no pressure at all to take our clothes off. Obviously there were hundreds of things we wanted to ask and know about naturism and everyone was very willing to answer them for us as honestly as possible.
The first time I took my clothes off was on a weekend away with YBN when we went to a swim at Waterworld. There were hundreds of people there which made it easier as I was just one in a crowd of people. No one apart from YBN members knew it was my first time so why would they look at me differently to anyone else. I felt fine and then sunbathed with no clothes on the day after at the Telford club. Both times Martin kept making sure I was feeling ok without any clothes on, this reassured me that I was definitely under no pressure from him.
As a young lady with a body nothing like those on the television or in magazines normally I am quite conscious of how I look. However after meeting members of the YBN I felt totally at ease with them and knew no one judged anyone by the way they looked. This is the main aspect of naturism I find so good, everyone is so secure with his or her own self image which in the society we live in is so rarely the case.
I have told my housemates, (all of whom are girls) and my brother about Martin and I being involved with naturism. Their first reaction was to giggle at the thought of us and a load of other people sitting around naked. However they have not been negative in any way, and say if that’s what we want to do it is up to us but it wouldn’t be for them. One of my housemates made a point that she could never do it because she hates her naked body. This really got to me - if she could only bring herself to go to a naturist club she may become aware her looks aren’t everything and gain more confidence with her body and, in turn, herself.
YBN has introduced and allowed Martin and I to participate in many new things. We have been to fancy dress parties, swim nights and areas of the country we have never visited before, learnt to play volleyball and miniten and even camped in the pouring rain which I vowed never to do! We’ve enjoyed the way of life so much and have now also booked that naturist holiday that spurred our interest in the first place!

Being Natural by Andrew

I suppose it goes back to my birth, I arrived before the midwife got there and when the doctor came he said “where is this natural baby?” So Natural is what I was called in the family.
Growing up on the edge of the countryside I spent most of my childhood outdoors, up trees and skinny dipping in ponds and streams, were summers really longer then?
Naked kids playing in woods and meadows didn’t raise any eyebrows in that more innocent age. Alas childhood doesn’t last forever and with age came, not shame exactly but a growing awareness of disapproval by mainly ‘Townies’ visiting the countryside in larger numbers. Opportunities to be naked outdoors became less and I resented having to be secretive.
Over the years my naturism, a word I was unaware of till much later, became dormant. I came across H & E Naturist magazine and discovered a whole world of ordinary people doing ordinary things but naked. I became determined to revive my childhood happiness and joined British Naturism and the Singles Outdoor Club.
My first club visit was booked with Wyvern as it is the nearest to my home. As soon as I went through the gates I was made to feel welcome and after a tour of the grounds I stripped off. Naked outdoors! After all these years felt so liberating, so free! This was the real me. There was none of the ‘Single Male problem I had heard about, everybody was so friendly.
Next visit was to Telford and to walk through a lovely wood naked took me back to those early days, Magic! I unfortunately had to cancel several other club visits but managed to visit Wyvern and Telford again. My next outing was to Stoke Waterworld, to be amongst 400 people of all ages all having a great time was amazing. This is what naturism is all about. My last visit of the year was to the BN night at the Ken Marriot leisure centre, not as many people but enjoyable none the less. So ended my first ‘Official’ naturist year. I have started putting dates in my diary for next year with a visit to Abbey house gardens a must do.
Hopefully if I discover a Natural lady to share my rediscovered Naturism life will be, as PA Larkin would say PERFICK!

Going Natural in Croatia by Caroline

I hadn't thought of naturism until I met my fiancé five years ago, and even when discovering his father was a long time naturist and he too had a preference to be without clothes, I didn't think much of it.
Then aged 25, to say my knowledge of naturism was scarce would be an understatement, not only had I never heard of 'naturist clubs', but the whole 'being naked' thing was new to me. At some point in my life I must have gained a basic understanding of the term 'naturist' as I did know it referred to people who wondered around with their kit off, but I didn't know anything of the 'naturist ideal' and certainly had never imagined there would be official organisations and movements.
I have always been a person that even in private would never think about wandering round the house naked when alone, or spending any time naked when not showering or changing. Even when on the beach abroad I would think twice about taking my bikini top off as I felt extremely self conscious of my body, it would be safe to say that nine times out of ten I preferred to remain covered and avoid the feeling people were staring at me.
In April we decided it was time to take a break, and little known to me all the holiday locations my fiancé was suggesting stood a good chance of being naturist friendly. We finally decided on Croatia and due to a recommendation from the Internet, we obtained a brochure featuring the Hotel Istra situated on Red Island in Rovinj; it was only at this time that my fiancé finally admitted the motive behind the recommendation - it had it's own naturist island! Instantly I said 'no', I didn't want to be stared at and feel uncomfortable on my long awaited holiday. Feeling utter disappointment at my reaction he began to explain his utter dislike for wearing wet soggy costumes on beaches, and generally wearing clothes when in a hot climate - could I not give it a go? Feeling some sympathy and with the reassurance the main hotel and complex were textile, I agreed.
In late May we arrived in Croatia and having endured the usual jokes about the naturist island from the tour rep we arrived at the dock side to catch our 20 minute boat ride to the island. After a most entertaining boat ride where our luggage nearly began a slow trip to Italy we ferried up to the hotel.
After freshening up we decided to take a tour of the island. With two freshwater pools, table tennis, huge chess, basketball, tennis, spa (which had to be pre-booked) and much more there was plenty to do. Whilst walking around the main island we could see the small naturist island in the distance, connected by a thin concrete causeway the two only lay 1/4-mile apart.
With some encouragement we took to the causeway and went to investigate the naturist island aptly signposted when reaching it's edge. It was at this point I began to feel a bit wary, it was my first time in a naturist environment and I didn't know what to expect; all different questions were going round in my head - what would I feel? How would I react?
To my surprise the island wasn't sandy but rocky, although sometimes this is better as rock doesn't stick to the sun cream! By now it was quite late in the day and it wasn't that busy with naturists. As we were walking round I began to ask myself what the big deal was - normal people on holiday but without clothes. We went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner.
Our first night was spent trying to find the restaurant in order to have our evening meal, after going round in circles a few times we found eventually on the lower floor. The remainder of our evening was spent in the local tavern and having several drinks with fellow Brits in the hotel bar.
Next morning, with gentle persuasion, we made out way to go to the naturist island. Admittedly I was a bit unsure at this point but decided to give it a go, after all we were on holiday and the chance of anybody recognising me was a little remote!!
Once we found our spot my fiancé just stripped off without a word, leaving me just stood there thinking what do I do now? In a slight state of panic my fiancé told me just to ‘do it and not think about it’. As I was starting to feel more out of place with my clothes on than without, I just stripped off and threw my clothes down. To be honest it was all a bit of an anti-climax at this point, and you start to wonder why you were making such a big fuss of it; it felt so natural and normal I just resumed the usual business of applying plenty of sun cream.
Some time later it was time for a visit to the loo and to get some drinks, my fiancé got up (without dressing) with his towel and began walking towards the toilets and island restaurant, it was at this point I began to feel a bit strange as the prospect of 'walking around' openly naked in public was daunting - I hadn't done anything like this before. A few short gulps later I started on my way up to the main path, but as I grew closer I could see more and more people, panicked, and quickly rushed to put my summer dress on which I'd hidden under my arm.
When returning down to the rocks we decided to go for a swim. I must admit I didn't know what to expect swimming naked, I was a bit apprehensive, it sounds stupid but what is anything bit me? Anyway, I bared all, gritted my teeth at the sea temperature and dived in. I can't explain what it feels like to swim naked - you have to try it to understand how great it feels. Of course you have the added bonus of not having to lie in a soggy bikini afterwards trying to get dry!
As the day wore on, the island became more crowded, and more people walked around naked I began to feel more comfortable and it wasn't long before I was openly swimming in the sea and going for short explorations along the rocks without even realising I was naked.
From that day on for the rest of our holiday and despite all the facilities and attractions on the main island, we spent most of our days on the naturist island naked - not fighting for sun loungers but fighting for the best rocks.
From somebody who hadn't been in a naturist environment in her life, to then going on a holiday with a naturist island, I thought I would feel out of place, uncomfortable, and feel that people would be staring at me. However, I felt more out of place with my clothes on and looking back wouldn't have missed the experience and feeling of being naked for anything.
Since returning from Croatia we have become members of YBN (Young British Naturists), our local sun club, and regularly try to go to nearby events; I find the more events I go to the more confident I become. I can't say I wander round naked all the time, certainly in England it's true to say I can take it or leave it - but give me a sunny day, a beach, a sauna, the open sea or even a swimming pool and I'm there and naked.

First Time Experiences - Introduction

If you are curious about naturism, there's really no substitute for experiencing it for yourself. No one can ever truly describe that first-time feeling of freedom from clothes, with your body fully exposed to the sun and the breeze. Swimming without clothes gives a feeling that you wouldn't believe - a huge difference in sensation, even though it is just a tiny bathing suit you have left behind. Here's a guide for first-timers from Roni Fine:
Roni Fine's beginner’s guide to Naturism
So you’ve decided to become a naturist, now what? Is it that simple - you take your clothes off and that’s it? Well, yes, in principle that’s all you need to do, but there is a whole lot more out there to make naturism an enjoyable way of life.
To be reading this you have obviously got as far as joining BN, or know someone who has, and that is a good way of sourcing information. You can find details of clubs and swims, days out and holiday destinations. Next, you decide to head off to one of these places, but what does this involve? Do you just turn up? What is expected of you? If I had to write a naturist law, I would say, “Do not do anything to upset or offend another person.” But isn’t that a good rule for any community?
There is social etiquette, as in any way of life, but first of all, relax! Naturism is all about the feel good factor, so don’t get stressed out worrying how you are to do it! Just be yourself, only, when it is warm enough, remove your clothes. It is as simple as that - well, okay, there might be a few unwritten rules.
It can seem a little daunting to undress in front of perfect strangers – and if it is your first time, no one is going to force you until you are ready - take your time and feel comfortable. Once you are with a group of naked people, you often feel the odd one out if dressed. Once you strip off, you feel one of the crowd and it feels completely normal! You can generally choose where to undress - not necessarily with an audience! It is best to choose clothing that is easy to deal with, so as not to attract attention to yourself - something simple that pulls off and on with little effort. T-shirt and shorts for the men. A simple sun-dress for the ladies. Women often feel very exposed when first going naked, so it can be a good idea to wear a sarong. You can very simply loosen and drop the sarong as you sit down and tie it again as you get up, without drawing attention to yourself. You will soon be able to get up and walk without even thinking of replacing it.
Don’t worry that you will no longer have the need to buy a new dress – sorry, gentlemen, but when your lady says she has nothing to wear, she isn’t joking! Naturist venues mainly involve evening socials to be clothed events, as handling food or each other on the dance floor is generally considered to be best carried out fully clothed.
You might well be wondering where to look and thinking it will be embarrassing to be close to other people when undressed. Don’t fret - it will be easier than you imagine. There is far more eye contact between naturists and perhaps this concentrates the mind on the conversation, as it is often said how friendly and approachable naturists are. It is obvious etiquette not to stare at people, but as always, “Do unto others as you wish to be done by” stands fast.
The biggest fear of taking part as a naturist is usually the person’s own lack of self-esteem. They think their body is not good enough to be seen. Am I right? Is that what you have been thinking? That it is all right for those who are slim, trim and toned, beautifully tanned and attractive? Well, think again! Naturists are not that small a section of the population, we are a whole cross-section of all shapes and sizes, from all backgrounds and of all ages: a thoroughly mixed bunch of people, so yes, you too can be a naturist! Do not worry that you have a body problem that might stop you from being unclothed, as the naturist community is the one place that is totally accepting and you will not find prejudice or ridicule. I have witnessed this and been told directly by people with artificial limbs, mastectomies, cellulite and scars.
What I hear time and again is that naturism is a great leveller, by which people mean that once the clothing identity is removed, we see the real person and take more notice of their true self - their attitude, their intelligence, their friendliness, their sense of humour and their feelings. Gone is the need to dress to impress and hide behind a false persona.
People often worry about the effect naturism has on children, but it is the children who love to be free of clothing and it is only the grown-ups who finally make them feel ashamed of their bodies. By raising children in a naturist community you will be raising them with fewer hang-ups and greater understanding of their peers.
And no white bits! What could possibly persuade you to be a naturist more than having no white bits?! Bodies look best when they have an all-over colour! But don’t worry if you are a redhead and burn easily - naturism isn’t just about getting a suntan, it is about being natural and feeling good, and you can do that in the shade, too!
Many men are genuinely worried that they might suffer a natural reaction to an attractive female, but they soon appreciate that we are dealing with non-sexual nudity and it is the addition of clothing that adds the sexual connotation. Having said that, it is a good idea to carry a towel. It can be held in front of your body if you feel rather exposed, and it also provides you with something to do with your hands when standing around, initially feeling very much on show. You will soon feel totally at ease and just drape it over your arm or shoulder. Of course, it is a compulsory accessory for every naturist as it is etiquette, for obvious reasons, to sit on your own towel when using communal seating.
Ladies, you might wonder what to do when you have a period and the answer is simple – wear whatever is comfortable for you. Of course, it would soon be noticed in most clubs if you never uncovered, as the majority are not clothes- optional. You do need to have the intention to be naturist whenever possible. This leads to another frequently asked question: “What do you do when it gets cold?” The answer to this is more obvious than people imagine: we get dressed! It is strange how people still think naturists remain naked whatever the weather, and I always explain that we are naturists, not masochists! What you will find is that you need to carry something warm but easy to slip on, as the temperature in this country changes, like the…er…weather!
There are many jokes about what to do with your money and keys, as you have no pockets, and there are no prizes for realising that the female half of a couple always ends up with everything in her handbag – but isn’t that always the case, anywhere? It goes almost without saying that cooking, especially barbecueing, is best done wearing an apron, if only to dispel those silly jokes about cooking the wrong sausage, but also to protect oneself from spitting fat!
Body piercings and tattoos are often a cause for concern. I have never heard of objections to tattoos - just the occasional cringe at the thought of the pain involved in obtaining them! I believe nipple jewellery is generally accepted, but some clubs frown on genital piercings, especially if they are not discreet, so it might be wise to make enquiries before turning up fully adorned.
Naturism can mean different things to different people and you need to decide what the right path is for you. Some people are happy to throw off their clothes when home alone or in the privacy of their own secluded garden (lucky things!), and this is enough for them, but others want to be part of a community and use naturism to meet like-minded individuals. This can open up a whole new world to you, full of new friends and activities linking you with people all over the country, indeed, the world.
For some, naturism is more of an outdoor pastime and they find somewhere to walk off the beaten track. You need to carry some instant clothing to ensure a quick cover-up, but the worry of meeting someone who objects does rather spoil the tranquillity of the moment. Hence people visit beaches that have been set aside, although some involve a hike to reach them, so you must be fit! However nice these designated beaches are, the other problem I must warn you of is that they are still public and there is the chance of people attending for the wrong reason. I am, of course, referring to the presence of ‘meerkats’. If you have ever watched a nature programme about these animals, you will instantly recognise the similarity between them and the rogue males who bob up and down in the sand-dunes to view naked bodies. When behaviour gets beyond that which can be ignored it needs reporting. Regrettably, naturists are loath to do this for fear of local people and council officials using these incidents to close these beaches to them. We don’t want these people polluting our beaches either, so please report them to the police or get advice from BN. Please don’t think all single males are prone to this behaviour - it is a minority group. There is safety in numbers, so place yourself near others and you will find true naturists are a friendly group and that it is easy to engage in conversation. You will soon have someone to watch over your belongings whilst you wander down to the water’s edge.
If a trip to the beach is too far to be worthwhile as the weather might have changed before you get there, then a club is your best bet. You might not have the waves lapping and the sand under your feet, but you will find yourself in a friendly, relaxed, comfortable and safe atmosphere. Does that sound like I am biased towards clubs? Well, maybe I am, because I love what I have at Blackthorns and I don’t deny it! But I also love to visit the Welsh Morfa Dyffryn beach. I will put up with the slight possibility of ‘meerkats’ for the beauty of the sea and sand and if I lived closer, I would be there every weekend. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, by joining a club you are instantly in a safe, secluded environment where everyone is there for the right purpose and this creates a relaxed atmosphere, enabling you to get on with feeling good! Most clubs consist of a pool and sunbathing lawns and a good social scene, with dances and gatherings as well as sporting facilities, which can be for fun or competition. By belonging to CCBN you can join teams and compete against other clubs.
A lot of people discover naturism when holidaying abroad and finding themselves on a naturist beach by accident - or so they say! Perhaps it is their way of trying it out without admitting that it has been their lifelong wish!
There are a growing number of classy holiday destinations for naturists, whether at naturist hotels, near naturist beaches or at a proper naturist complex where you can literally remain undressed day and night for the whole of your stay, whether on the beach, at the bar, in the restaurant or at the supermarket. There is a whole world of naturism to discover out there.
Well, there you are - all set to face the naturist population with pride and confidence. Now I must dash out and buy a new towel as I have just realised that I haven`t any to go with my new red shoes. Oh, and I need a red hat, too…or should I get purple? Oh dear! I just have NOTHING to wear!

Frequently Asked Questions

What preparations should I make before visiting a naturist place?
Generally none at all, apart from those you would normally make to go anywhere. It doesn't take much to make yourself presentable in a naturist environment.
Are children likely to be shocked by their first sight of naturists?
No. Children take to nudity like ducks to water. Cases of children being upset by the sight of nude people are extremely rare. As people grow up, they are taught by social convention that nudity is wrong or shocking. You are not born with an aversion to human bodies: before the Victorian period society was far more tolerant of the bare body and we seem to be moving steadily back in that direction. There's nothing inherently wrong with nudity.
Will I have to go around naked all the time?
Well, nudity is largely the point of naturism. However, in most naturist places you may, rather than must, take all your clothes off. Women may wish to wear a bikini bottom during periods; when the weather cools off, everyone will cover up.
Is it advisable for people with less-than-perfect figures to become naturists?
Yes - that's the whole point. Every body is different, but naturists will like you just as you are. It isn't in the least important what your body is like because people accept you in your entirety. That's all there is to you!
I don't think my wife and I would have the courage to strip off our clothes in what is, in effect, public. How would we get over our inhibitions?
If you visit a naturist beach, you will soon feel that it is you who are out of step among all those naked people - men, women and children! Similarly, nobody expects you to undress the minute you enter the grounds of a naturist club on your initial visit, but in most cases you will quickly feel the relaxed atmosphere and see how comfortable nude people are with one another.
Once you feel at home, which often takes only a few minutes, you will feel free. But if you realise that naturism is not for you, your clothes will stay on and you will leave. In all honesty, few can resist the call of naturism once they have experienced it.
Do men ever become aroused during their first visit?
This is an age-old question among people who have not experienced naturism. Nudity in sun clubs is not sexually stimulating, and being naked in a social environment for the first time will give you plenty else to think about. If this is your worry, try it - you'll be OK.
What will people say when they find I'm a naturist?
They won't unless you choose to tell them. Other naturists are, of course, fully understanding and would want to protect your enjoyment of naturism rather than jeopardise it. People are usually interested in the subject, and naturism is something to be proud of.
Can I expect any real health benefits from naturism?
Yes, if you go to a naturist place you can get fit just enjoying the facilities: swimming and all the other games and sports. It's much more enjoyable than a gym as it doesn't feel like an effort or a chore. You will also benefit from the general air of relaxation and freedom from stress.
I remember seeing that commercial on television, featuring nudists frying Danish Bacon. Isn't it dangerous to do certain things without the protection of clothes?
Yes, it is, which is why the sensible naturist dresses when doing certain jobs, or in cold weather, and is aware of the dangers of sunburn.
When I told my friend I was visiting a naturist club, he was shocked and hinted that I would be mixing with undesirables. Is that right?
Naturists cover the complete range - singles, partners, married couples . . . Most clubs are family orientated, and usually you will see parents with children from babies upwards with their grandparents. There is nothing to offend even the most sensitive soul, and your friend is speaking without knowledge and has assumed wrongly that nudity must mean amorality. You only need to visit a club, beach or leisure centre evening to see what sort of people naturists are, and the pursuits we enjoy. Your friend couldn't be further from the truth.

Unilever partners British Naturism

Yes, you read that right. We know our subject matter attracts a lot of attention, but an approach from one of the world's leading companies asking us to work with them is pretty special...
A short while ago, we were approached by the PR company who handle Unilever's (http://www.unilever.co.uk/) fabric softener brand Comfort Plus and have been working with them on a media campaign which is now coming to fruition.
Here's what they say about the project:
Comfort Pure is a brand that’s serious about skin. It’s a fabric conditioner with skincare research recognised by the British Skin Foundation. It is hypoallergenic and dermatologically tested, which makes it suitable for people with sensitive skin. But what’s this got to do with you?
Well, British Naturism has teamed up with Comfort Pure to prove that being naked is good for your skin – and we need your help to do it! All that’s involved is a click on the link below to answer a few simple questions in our survey. We promise it won’t take longer than 10 minutes of your time.
http://www.onepoll.c...3ba33ec73fae85f
There is also a Photo Call to get some images to go with a press release once the results of the survey are in. It will take place in London on Friday 16 Sept. I'm sure many of you would like to take part but they only need 5-10 people, a good mix of men and women. Please contact Jennifer Fermor JFermor@GolinHarris.com if you would like to be considered.
This is a great opportunity for promotion of naturism with the power of a huge mulitnational and their PR company driving things. Please help if you can.
Thanks!
A

British Naturism and the London Olympics 2012

In the 3 Year Plan (3YP) - item 3.4.4 - we talk about how we want to exploit the fact that the Olympics and Paralympics are taking place in the UK next summer. We’re now ready to launch the project properly and would love people on the forum to contribute ideas, suggestions and offers of help to get the very best out of it.
Yes, we are jumping on the band wagon as so many people will be doing, but we have an extra good reason for doing so in that the original Olympic Games in ancient Greece were done in the nude. I am still surprised at how many people that I speak to don’t realise that words like "gymnasium" come from the Greek word Gymnos, which means naked.
Dates - the main Olympics takes place from the 27th July to the 12th August with the Paralympics following from the 29th August to the 9th September. There are a number of locations around the country that will host sporting events.
The main things that we want to do are:
Raise the profile. Perhaps we will run an event of some sort where we will invite press and other key people. We have ruled out a big sports event/tournament because we don’t have the resources - both financial and pairs of hands – and there will be so much sport going on that we may lose the ability to stand out. We have a number of ideas that we are working on, but would love to hear from you as well.
Support clubs, swims and individuals who want to do something. It could be particularly good for local publicity and gaining new members - we will give you whatever help you need.
Making sure that information is gathered and provided to overseas naturists who want to come and enjoy the games. In particular this means clubs with accommodation making themselves available to visitors and/or individuals offering travellers a place to stay.

If you have comments that you would like to make then let’s get the discussion going. I am particularly looking for people to help put things together and would like to form a small team. Please let me know either on here or by email andrew.welch@bn.org.uk if you would like to be part of it.

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