A Walk Aound Selbourne

[johnb]

Having given the Chiltern Scarp SOC walk a miss last Wednesday due to the awful weather forecast, on the following day day myself and friend went for a walk around Selbourne in Hampshire. Having made the decision to go walking on Wednesday evening, I identified one or two possible walk in that area from a map. On a fine, but cool morning, just after 10.00hrs we walked from a relatively busy car park, and took the famous zig zag path, set out by Gilbert White the naturalist, up the side of the hanger and on to Selbourne Hill.  I stopped to take the picture below, and one or two others on the way up.



After walking across the common we passed through Newton Valence, which has an interesting church with a very old yew tree in the churchyard.



After walking about a 1km along a minor road, without, as it happened, being passed by any cars, we turn off on to a footpath, and decided it was good point to get undressed.

By now it was about 11.30hrs, and a little further on we stopped on a patch of grass for a snack. This part of the walk was more open with the path typically running alongside a hedgerow. At one point we passed a field of hops.



Apart from covering up for a couple of road crossings, a short stretch where we had to go along a minor road, and when passing the odd house, we were then able to be naked for the next 2.25hrs, as we circled to the north and east Selbourne, before returning along the Hanger Way. At the point where we joined the Hanger Way a sign said it was closed, however when I queried it with a woman in a nearby garden she said that it was now open again. She didn't seem bothered about our minimal dress, and anyone familiar with SOC walks will know have some idea as to what we looked like. The fact that the path was open again was fortunate, as the possible alternative routes would have cost us too much time. We finally dressed when we reached the outskirts of village at 14.30hrs, and estimated overall he distance covered at 8miles, for half of which we were naked.

John

Edited twice to add in additional information.

[Davie]

Sounds like a good walk. Nothing to beat a bit of free-range walking

Davie 

[jbeegoode]

Such a nice spot. I'd like to see more intimate photos of the flora. Heck I'd like to smell the place...be there. It is foreign to me, a sense of adventure.

What kind of clothing do you have to change in and out of? Conventional? I was just thinking, could you get by with just a wrap-around, or kilt, or would that be a cultural faux pas? Out of convenience and quicker cover-up when surprised than pants.
Jbee

[nuduke]

Lovely looking walk, John!  How did you find such a long distance/time to be naked?  I looked at the map and you must have walked across a lot of fields, I guess.  Must be a particularly sparsely populated patch of our green and pleasant land. Would you say that or was it a matter of careful reconnaissance ahead?

John

[johnb]

Firstly I have now edited the original post twice to add additional info and a couple more pictures. I thought I allowed myself enough time when I first did the post, but that wasn't the case, and it ended up with a bit of a rush.

Lovely looking walk, John!  How did you find such a long distance/time to be naked?  I looked at the map and you must have walked across a lot of fields, I guess.  Must be a particularly sparsely populated patch of our green and pleasant land. Would you say that or was it a matter of careful reconnaissance ahead?
John

Having crossed Selborne common, the countryside was generally more open until we reached the Hanger Way. The fields we crossed whilst naked were generally sufficiently far from the relatively low number of farms or houses to avoid any issues.  The only reconnaissance we did, or had time for was looking at the map. I didn't expect to be naked in the zig zag path or Selbourne Common and we didn't attempt it. However it was only at the point where we left the common that we saw anyone, and there we met a National Trust vehicle and trailer, and shortly afterwards two horse riders. We didn't expect that we would achieve the dressed v naked time ratio of an SOC walk, and were very happy with the 50% that we managed.

Such a nice spot. I'd like to see more intimate photos of the flora. Heck I'd like to smell the place...be there. It is foreign to me, a sense of adventure.

What kind of clothing do you have to change in and out of? Conventional? I was just thinking, could you get by with just a wrap-around, or kilt, or would that be a cultural faux pas? Out of convenience and quicker cover-up when surprised than pants.
Jbee

Sorry we didn't have more pictures of the flora.

Regarding dress I set off in a utility kilt, polo shirt, and light jacket as it was cool. My friend was in shorts with a couple of layers on top. Having climbed the zig zag path and with the sun gaining strength we were feeling quite warm, so a short distance beyond the top of it, I took off my jacket and swapped my kilt for a light wrap around skirt. After we started the "naked section", I just put on my skirt (my friend his shorts) as a cover up where needed. We finally dressed "properly" again when we reached the edge of the village.

John

[nuduke]

Ah, I see - That explains the naked sections - you in fact need to change dress to meet the demands of the location as you go.  It's not all one naked ramble it's got clothed sections too. 

I went on a naked potential recce a couple of days ago walking away from our semi rural new location into fields.  I was a bit disappointed in that I didn't come across a clear naturist hike due to the very flat terrain (you can see for miles!) and the relative lack of tree cover. 

But maybe I was expecting too much.  My problem is that I've never 'developed' quick access clothing such as the Utility Kilt or wrap round shorts for speed dressing!  The ability to stop and briefly dress or disrobe is what I need to develop.  At the moment with conventional clothing, I can't dress the lower half or undress without taking off the walking boots or getting trousers or shirt in the mud.  It's Ok on dry grass and a sunny day but not so good on a wet Wednesday in a cowfield if someone pops out of the hedge 200 yds away, or you round a bend to see a dog walker approaching both of which happened on my walk the other day!

I remain optimistic as so far I have walked a tiny minority of the potential within a 10' drive or a short cycle.

John

[jbeegoode]

I went on a naked potential recce a couple of days ago walking away from our semi rural new location into fields.  I was a bit disappointed in that I didn't come across a clear naturist hike due to the very flat terrain (you can see for miles!) and the relative lack of tree cover. 

But maybe I was expecting too much.  My problem is that I've never 'developed' quick access clothing such as the Utility Kilt or wrap round shorts for speed dressing!  The ability to stop and briefly dress or disrobe is what I need to develop.  At the moment with conventional clothing, I can't dress the lower half or undress without taking off the walking boots or getting trousers or shirt in the mud.  It's Ok on dry grass and a sunny day but not so good on a wet Wednesday in a cowfield if someone pops out of the hedge 200 yds away, or you round a bend to see a dog walker approaching both of which happened on my walk the other day!

I remain optimistic as so far I have walked a tiny minority of the potential within a 10' drive or a short cycle.

John

I see large plots of woods on the google salivate mapping. What is the story of those?
Jbee

[nuduke]

google salivate mapping

Wha?  Switch off your spellchecker!

John

[jbeegoode]

I think the spellchecker did that when blind Jbee pushed the wrong opyion...option.

How does satellite becone salivate? Wierd, very word.
Jbee

[nuduke]

I didn't just go wha, yknow!  Mr Analytical looked it up afterwards and it appears Google does Sylvite mapping i.e. that of woods.  Google it and see what you get. 
John

[johnb]

Ah, I see - That explains the naked sections - you in fact need to change dress to meet the demands of the location as you go.  It's not all one naked ramble it's got clothed sections too. 

John

It was straightforward enough, we both started walking in our normal clothing (a utility kilt is relatively normal for me), until we reached a point where (especially given that we hadn't surveyed it before) where we felt it might suitable to go naked. However as it happened  the "cover ups" then stayed on for a while, until we reached a point, beyond the road section I mentioned, where we felt it was safe to be naked.  After that  the cover ups were only used briefly where needed for crossing roads or passing housing.  We then changed back into those normal clothes just short of the end of the walk.

Had the car park not been busy, something which wrongly led us to believe we might have a few encounters on the early stages of the walk, we might well have changed there, left our "normal" clothing in the car, and walked away from it just in our cover ups.

John

[nuduke]

Yes, I see, John.  All good SN* craft and tactical reconnaissance!

This is helping me make practical plans for my new location (E Midlands, Lincs) walks.  I won't expect a continuous naked walk and will review my naturist wardrobe (if that isn't a contradiction in terms!!) for suitable cover up items that can be donned quickly, are inconspicuous in style (i.e. not tropical flower tangerine and heliotrope bermuda shorts** in February!) and can be used to set out and finish up in.

I seem to recall either Larry or Alf having doctored pairs of shorts so the can be donned without putting the legs through.  I wonder if that can work for a pair of combats with long legs.  I guess not.  I can't quite remember the recipe but I think it involved removing the gusset!

Great word, gusset.  One of the honest, ancient, workaday, functional words like spigot, trunnion, flange and placket!

John

*if the use of that term is not now totally unfashionable!
** I must emphasise that I do not possess a garment with so tasteless a colour combination.  If I lived in CA, TX or AZ I would!!