Hello from the English Lake District - usually cool and damp

[Fellsnude]

Hi - I've been lurking here for years but didn't join because I was posting on Naturist Corner (and previously Cat's Chat) - now closed - and was reluctant to be involved on more than one forum at a time. Like many of you, I'm approaching 70. Mrs Fellsnude and I have been naturist to some degree since our first holiday to the Greek islands in 1986. I've become rather addicted to nude hiking in the hills but only when it's warm enough. Mrs F sometimes indulges too but warm enough is even warmer for her, then a couple of degrees higher and it's too hot!

Sadly, we'll probably be clothed from now (indoors at least) until our planned Canary Isles holiday in March 2023.

The best thing about reading this forum is seeing how you always manage to be civil to each other even when you clearly disagree fundamentally on some issues - keep it up, guys (it does seem to be all guys, doesn't it?)
Sad to see that almost all the new sign-ups in 2021 and 2022 seem to have drifted away quite quickly though - perhaps some of you are still looking in sometimes?

[jbeegoode]

My girlfriend, DF, pops in every so often, but rarely says much. Perhaps there are dozens of female lurkers?

Welcome!

What are your hikes like?

Jbee

[Fellsnude]

Hi JBee,
I had a number of hikes on Naturist Corner but hadn't saved the text off-line, so will aim to re-create them on separate threads here in time. A few of the Freerangers on here will have seen them - MartinM, Davie for a couple.

In the Lake District we had a famous writer/illustrator called Wainwright who produced guides to all the "fells" between the 1950s and 1970s. There are 214 fells in the books, and they have become known as the Wainwrights. I've done about 20 of them nude. Some are just too popular and busy to ever be able to do them nude in daylight, but there are plenty more of the quieter ones that I think are possible, given suitable weather. The Yorkshire Dales are also quite close, as is southern Scotland, and I've done a few in both areas.

[jbeegoode]

I have taken the time to find out what a "fell" and a "dale" are. It never occurred to me what "dale" actually meant, even though the term has come up since childhood nursery rhymes.

I notice that there is a lot of what looks like empty land in southern Scotland. Do these and fells amount to wide open spaces? Can you camp? Are they wild, or wilderness to an extent? Do they give a sense of that? What are the dark green regions that look planted, trees?

Is this similar to the monroes, or flat butte-like?

Are there trail systems throughout?

AND finally (sorry, quite a slew), a question about the law. Does Scotland now adhere to the more liberal interpretation like regions south in concern to nudity, or are they still more uptight?
Jbee

 

[Fellsnude]

I think both "fell" and "dale" are inherited from the Vikings.

I'm not an expert on Scotland, but there is a general right of responsible access, rather than the system of "rights of way" in England and Wales. I theory that means you can walk anywhere, but in practice you have to research where there are physical barriers like fences so it's harder to plan routes on a map.
I'm not sure what the wild camping rules are there. There is a lot of wilderness at altitude, but the walking can be rough, wet, and plagued by the dreaded midges in the west in summer.

Dark green - probably forest but it depends on which type of map you're looking at.

The Munro is any peak over 3,000ft, regardless of terrain, but the tree line is lower thank that everywhere, I think.

There are trails - long-distance routes - but may places without them.

Scottish laws on naturism are broadly similar to Engish but framed differently, I think. You would normally only get into trouble in populated areas.

I'm happy to be corrected on any of that but those who know more!