A walk with the Naturist Ramblers (in the UK)

[atourist]

I posted this trip report on Naturist Corner, but as it was clearly a free-range naturist adventure, I am posting it here, too...

I recently decided to join, for the first time, a walk organised by Naturist Ramblers, and when I saw one was taking place in my neighbourhood, it provided the perfect opportunity.
So I joined the group for the Sugar Hill walk near Swindon at the alloted meeting place and as we set off a head count showed there were 21 men, one lady and two dogs.
Many words spring to mind when describing the experience of walking more than ten miles through the heart of rural Wiltshire, naked apart from walking boots and rucksacks; ‘exhilarating’, ‘invigorating’, ‘liberating’ and even ‘empowering’ are some.
But if I have to choose one word to describe the six hours it took to complete the walk, it is ‘surreal’.
Part of me was going on the walk to find out if it really is true that one can do it naked, and even though it was, indeed, a never-to-be-forgotten, life-enhancing experience to feel the sun and the wind all over my body while hiking, I never did quite get over feeling that I should pinch myself to prove all this was happening while I was awake.
Within five minutes of the start we were all naked, and soon Peter, the group’s chairman (who, like the rest of the walkers, was as friendly as one would expect a fellow naturist to be) was explaining that on previous walks on this route they had encountered very few textiles.
No sooner had he said this than one of the walkers ahead turned to make a T shape with his hands, which I took to mean ‘time out’ and I assumed we were stopping to eat our packed lunches. In fact, he was signalling T for textiles, as three hikers appeared on the track ahead of us, and we all reached for whatever clothing we had ready for a cover-up - in my case the shorts I kept in my rucksack.
My dilemma was that, being so close to home, there was an outside chance that I might actually know anyone we encountered, and I did not relish explaining why I was there when nobody, apart from my wife and other naturists, are aware of my tendency to remove my clothes in more conventional naturist settings, let alone in the countryside, a few miles from home.
In every encounter it was either apparent enough that our group was naked, since they got close enough to see for themselves, or because we only wore minimal clothing. One man’s method of covering up was simply to wrap a towel around himself, which I am told one of the textiles had noticed as “strange”.
It wasn’t long before I wondered whether I was a jinx, because in all there were seven or eight close encounters with other clothed people, including hikers, cyclists, two motorcyclists and several farm workers, driving tractors and a combine harvester.
The more experienced walkers took all this in their stride - often literally - although they were less casual when we walked through a cow field and for a tense moment it looked as if there was going to be a stand-off between men and beasts at the gate.
I left the meeting and greeting of textiles to more experienced members of the group, so I wasn’t fully aware of reactions, but none could have been particularly averse, and apart from the annoying need to cover and uncover, it was never going to stop us or cause us problems beyond the embarrassment about the surrealism of it all.
One reaction we got was actually quite encouraging. As we got up to continue the walk after stopping in a field for lunch, two teenage cyclists rode past and one of our group apparently offered an apology to them, presumably because we hadn’t had time to cover up. But their instant reply was: “That’s OK; we don’t mind,” which I thought was a refreshingly mature thing for two young lads to say.
Still affected by the surrealism of it all, I couldn’t help thinking about what all the people we encountered told their friends and loved ones when they got home. I doubt everybody believed their stories of the gang of naked men (and woman) they had bumped into, and they will probably go on telling the story for years, to anybody who will believe them.
I have to say the constant threat of meeting more textiles and the danger that some of them might turn out to recognise me made the walk slightly stressful, although of course the pure pleasure of walking naked and enjoying the view, which was often panoramic across the downs, had the expected de-stressing effect, so it more than balanced out the negativity.
The walk certainly put the nature into naturist like nothing I have ever exprienced before.
Walking progress was slow, especially in the early part of the walk as we waited for one of our party, who had a gammy leg, to catch up, and after he turned back, at lunchtime, the pace was still rather leisurely. This may be because, even at 55 years old, I was rather below the average age of the group, whose youngest member, we discovered, was celebrating his 42nd birthday.
As the walks take place in midweek and because others will require far more of a journey for me to reach the start, it is unlikely I will be able to get to any further walks in this year’s programme, but I intend to get to at least one walk next year, and maybe more.
The first walk proves it can be done, and the second will confirm that the first wasn’t a dream!
But for somebody who has always wanted to walk naked in the countryside for miles and miles, but never thought it would be possible, a walk with the Naturist Ramblers might be surreal, but it’s certainly a dream come true.

[jbeegoode]

Great report. I've been curious about the hikes and this gave me lots of insight. I like your honest expression. It gave me a much better sense of what it might be like to be there.

Seven or eight encounters in six hours, and one of those at the gate, seems a pretty comfortable flow. I think time would help you relax better and getting out of your neighborhood, but then it might be more exciting. We got a kick walking/wandering for hours in the national forest, the roads and jeep trails, thinking ourselves lucky, then here you are telling us how you were in a more remote-like situation on what has been described as a crowded little island. That is heartening news.

It is a long travel for us, but if the weather permitted, and I happened to be in that neck of the woods, I'd certainly make a special point to join one of those hikes.

Now that you know the route, could you see yourself taking a walk by yourself, given opportunity?
Jbee

[atourist]

Now that you know the route, could you see yourself taking a walk by yourself, given opportunity?
Jbee

I was asking myself this question all the way round, but when I got home and told my wife (who is not a naturist), she said she would consider it "a lot more dodgy" to come across a lone man walking around nude. This surprised me because 21 men doing it is a surreal sight, even to me, whereas one man quietly enjoying nature to the full seems perfectly reasonable. It just goes to show the non-naturist perspective can be quite different to ours.

On parts of the walk you can easily see other people in the distance, and they would be too far away to see what you are not wearing. But in other places you could suddenly bump into walkers. As the main point is to enjoy the freedom and liberation of it all, this threat does spoil it, even though it is difficult to see how the situation can end badly. The only real issue is overcoming your own embarrassment about being perceived as "dodgy", and how tolerant you are of awkward meetings with people, even if you have never met them before and will never see them again. In a group you have the option of just keeping your head down and saying nothing, and leave it to more experienced people.

One thing the walk has taught me is cyclists (or even motorcyclists) are not so much of a problem. They arrive and leave so quickly that by the time you have covered up, they're gone, so you might as well stay nude. They are very unlikely to stop, so in theory everybody would just carry on and the world would probably keep turning!

The answer is probably to try part of the walk for an hour, very early in the morning, which is the best time of the day to enjoy the countryside, anyway.

[milfmog]

Good to read that you enjoyed the walk though I am surprised at the number of encounters which was definitely higher than usual. Shame you are not going to make any more walks, I intend to join the next one at Harting Down (Petersfield) which, being a little further from home for you, might prove less stressful.

As for people being more circumspect about lone nude walkers than they are with groups, I think that is fairly normal. The logic seems to be that if a group is involved it must be an organised event and above board whereas a lone individual could be anything. However, that has never stopped me walking naked solo either on routes of my own or on sections of walks used by the Naturist Rambles / Single Outdoor Club. In the ten years plus I have been naked walking regularly I have only had two reactions that could be described as negative and neither was more than a slightly awkward moment.

Have fun (and enjoy the countryside properly dressed),


Ian.

[Peter S]

What Ian said. To help offset the "dodgy" notion, I think if you're carrying a rucksack and a hiking pole, say, then you look like what you are, a hiker with no clothes on, rather than some strange bloke walking around naked. It's all about uniforms and what's associated with them (though talking about "uniforms" and naturists is a bit paradoxical ...)

peter

[yeldew]

Interesting point from Peter about ‘uniform’.

I did a short walk from the naturist campsite I was on last week.
Clothed because I knew most of it would not be suitable for nude walking.
I wore my usual hiking kilt and walking shirt, and used the hiking poles that I always use.

I decided to explore a ½ mile Right of Way on the OS map that went nowhere except through a farm to a stream in the corner of a field.

On the way back I met the farmer, who had obviously been watching my return and contrived to be around as I passed.  He gave a very friendly greeting, but asked casually whether I had just come down this way.

I answered ‘Absolutely! But I’m still trying to work out why so many footpaths in this area go nowhere’.

His explanation was that they were originally routes used by the postman, delivering on foot between farms.  In the 1950s the Cornwall council had decided to declare them all as Right of Way, even though some were no longer passable because bridges had disappeared in the meantime.

However he did mention that it was a bit irritating to him when families wandered around, leaving gates open when his livestock were about.

And here’s the point of my post:

He commented, nodding to my poles, ‘but you obviously know what you are doing’.  No comment at all about the kilt!

I laughingly thanked him for the compliment and assured him that I had done no damage, and left every gate as I found it.

Continuing on my way I managed to disrobe for the last mile of the walk across fields to the stile into the campsite.

Norman.

[Peter S]

As I said, talking about uniforms when we're all naked seems a paradox, but the props - like the hiking poles - are part of it. I have had several conversations with people who think that what you wear to work doesn't matter, only what you do. While that's a nice theory I think it's undermined by what people actually do and think.

You have to look the part. When I worked as an electrician I turned up wearing suitably electrician-type overalls with a screwdriver sticking out of my pocket; people immediately decided I looked the part so didn't question me. If I'd turned up in a a suit they'd have been mistrustful. What I wore may not have made any difference to my working, but it would have made a difference to the customer perception and thus weakened my business.

So if you're working from home you can happily and effectively sit naked at the computer and it doesn't matter, but to meet the customer you also have to meet their snap-judgement criteria and dress appropriately.

This can be taken to ludicrous extremes - I once had a long (and slightly inebriated) conversation with a banker about dress codes, my point being that the banker had to dress and look like a banker, while he contended that wearing a suit and tie wasn't enough, they had to be from a particular brand label to count!

Of course this all cuts two ways - someone turns up on your doorstep looking like a window cleaner you immediately think he is one, when he's actually the local burglar. But that's the whole point about the "uniform" props - look like a hiker who's naked, not like a pervert on the prowl.

peter

[Davie]

You are absolutely right....  although sometimes the unexpected happens. A colleague and I walked into a pub one night just to have a look around, which always kept the licensee on his toes. A number of people approached us informing us that the fancy dress party was upstairs, not in the bar! I think the radios that actually worked demonstrated we were actually the real thing! We wished them well.

Davie 

[atourist]

I agree with looking the part changing everything, because I have a theory that you can do nearly anything in Britain if you are wearing a hard-hat and a hi-vis jacket. And if you have a mate with you and he is carrying a clipboard, you can do literally anything!

I should also say I have two problems with carrying walking poles. 1) I don't like to carry anything if I don't have to, especially when I am naked, and 2) Unless you are unsteady on your feet, I really don't see the point of those poles.

Don't proper walking boots qualify a nude walker as bona fide?

[Peter S]

A hiking pole isn't just to prop up the grey hairs  . If you do a lot of hiking the rough ground can catch you out, I find the pole is a useful uphill aid, and you can use it to probe mud and puddles to see how deep the trouble ahead is going to be! If we're still on the "uniform" theme, I'd say the pole is more immediately visible than boots, especially at a distance. And I know what you mean about the hi-viz jacket; there are so many of them around that I've heard it said the best way to become invisible is to wear one!

peter

[Greenbare Woods]

A hiking pole isn't just to prop up the grey hairs  . If you do a lot of hiking the rough ground can catch you out, I find the pole is a useful uphill aid, and you can use it to probe mud and puddles to see how deep the trouble ahead is going to be!

I have a theory that a hiking pole, or walking stick, was the first human invention.  Way back when our earliest ancestors were learning how to stand on two legs a handy stick would have been useful and easy to get.  It could also be used as a weapon when needed.  Some say that control of fire is what made us human, but the handy walking pole was probably used to begin controlling fire. 

I still carry a hiking pole.  Its not needed on level ground but on steep slopes, broken rocks, and unstable places it can save one from a nasty fall.

If we're still on the "uniform" theme, I'd say the pole is more immediately visible than boots, especially at a distance. And I know what you mean about the hi-viz jacket; there are so many of them around that I've heard it said the best way to become invisible is to wear one!
peter

Hmmm?  I have used the clip board and hard hat technique.  When i was in the home construction business and wanted to look at some other home under construction, I could enter their site and wander about without being questioned if I occasionally made a note on my clip board. 

One time when I was about 20 years old I had a collection of advertising signs.  I wanted an enameled sign for Head Skis that hung in front of a sports shop on main street in the middle of town.  My friend and I drove up in the middle of an afternoon and parked his pickup right in front.  We wore our hard hats and vests while we put up a ladder blocking pedestrians on the sidewalk.  Nobody asked any questions while we climbed up and took the sign down.  If we had tried that at night we might have been arrested. 

A hard hat and vest is not naked so I don't think it would be a good disguise for a nude walk. 

Bob

[jbeegoode]

A past girlfriend of mine wore a high vis florescent vest over a swimsuit as she bicycled to work along the river walk. It looked as though she wore nothing under it. People at the school bus yard where she worked thought so at first glance. It attracted attention to her, not fully dressed. I thought it a very sexy outfit. But not a disguise.

I like the uniform concept. Hmm maybe that could be very useful? A least, it could add confidence in the Federal forests where it may be claimed as legal.
Jbee

[eyesup]

But if I have to choose one word to describe the six hours it took to complete the walk, it is ‘surreal’.

I guess that would qualify. Walking 10 miles through a community, albeit in a wooded or rural area, is definitely a break from the norm and could have that effect.

. . . she would consider it "a lot more dodgy" to come across a lone man walking around nude.

We have talked about this before. Alone or in a group. Which is best? It seems that no matter how many, just trying to appear as normal as the person you meet is best, it’s just that you won’t be wearing clothes. And try your best to not panic, act nervous or like you are guilty of anything.

As to the wearing of a uniform, we are wearing one. It’s the natural uniform we were born with.

I’ve thought about getting a walking stick. The only time I use hiking poles is when I backpack. They do make a difference in maintaining balance and setting a good walking rhythm.

Duane

[eyesup]

Some say that control of fire is what made us human, but the handy walking pole was probably used to begin controlling fire.

Good point. Not only the use of tools but the making of tools is what sets us apart. Tools like a walking stick have multiple uses beyond walking. Hunting, shelter making, weapon. All sorts of uses.

Duane

[nuduke]

He commented, nodding to my poles, ‘but you obviously know what you are doing’.  No comment at all about the kilt!

I wonder, Norman, had you been naked, with said poles, whether the Farmer would have been so confident of your bona fides as a hiker!
Reiterating the various points already made - people react consistently to the uniform.  A naked hiker with good boots and poles and a rucksack gives mixed messages - partly uniform but partly not!  My guess is that he would have been less convivial, regretfully.

John