Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
Naturist articles: How I became a naturist
photos to be added
Development of an outdoor naturist
There are 2 types of naturist: The minority who belong to naturist clubs and the
majority who strip off on holiday, mainly on beaches abroad, when it is appropriate and
possibly at home or in secluded gardens. I certainly belong the majority.
I started mountain walking, mainly in Scotland, in the hot summers of 1975/6 and
often stripped off to swim in mountain tarns, cool off in streams and didn’t bother to wear
clothes when camping in remote mountain areas. I even became daring enough to walk
naked on occasions. Normally I was on my own, but like most mountaineers I never
carried swimming costumes and occasionally swam when other people were present. In
the wilderness almost as many people went swimming naked as used costumes.
At the time my main sport was orienteering and I was surprised to find mixed showers
were often provided after the events. They always tried to provide showers and if there
was only one set available they sensibly made them uni-sex.
I was only an occasional naturist until about 10 years ago, when a foot injury stopped
me from orienteering and mountaineering, and I took up canoeing. I bought myself a
Canadian (open) canoe and started going on multi-day canoe tours, mainly in Sweden.
Sweden is a land of lakes and rivers and is ideal for long-distance canoeing. There is a
much more relaxed attitude to nudity than in Britain and when canoeing you often see
people swimming or sunbathing naked.. There is usually plenty of hot weather in summer
and the water temperature was often 20-25ºC. There are many bathing places on the
lakes, often with swimming jetties and sometimes with diving platforms. Initially I tended
only to swim at those that were deserted, but as my confidence grew I asked people
present if they minded me swimming naked and found that very few minded and often
followed my example. Even families with children rarely minded. In the hot weather I
often paddled naked, just covering up with a towel when necessary. It was often possible
to be naked when camping in the wilderness.
My foot got bad enough for me to be forced to take early retirement from teaching,
but it has improved in recent years and I have got back to mountain walking. In 2002 I
made a successful attempt on the 2700-mile Pacific Crest Trail, which follows the Sierra
Nevada and Cascade Mountains from the Mexican to the Canadian border through
California, Oregon and Washington. Along the way I discovered a number of hot springs
where nudity seemed to be the rule, rather than the exception. This was where I got the
trail name “Ancient Brit”.
There are 2 types of naturist: The minority who belong to naturist clubs and the
majority who strip off on holiday, mainly on beaches abroad, when it is appropriate and
possibly at home or in secluded gardens. I certainly belong the majority.
I started mountain walking, mainly in Scotland, in the hot summers of 1975/6 and
often stripped off to swim in mountain tarns, cool off in streams and didn’t bother to wear
clothes when camping in remote mountain areas. I even became daring enough to walk
naked on occasions. Normally I was on my own, but like most mountaineers I never
carried swimming costumes and occasionally swam when other people were present. In
the wilderness almost as many people went swimming naked as used costumes.
At the time my main sport was orienteering and I was surprised to find mixed showers
were often provided after the events. They always tried to provide showers and if there
was only one set available they sensibly made them uni-sex.
I was only an occasional naturist until about 10 years ago, when a foot injury stopped
me from orienteering and mountaineering, and I took up canoeing. I bought myself a
Canadian (open) canoe and started going on multi-day canoe tours, mainly in Sweden.
Sweden is a land of lakes and rivers and is ideal for long-distance canoeing. There is a
much more relaxed attitude to nudity than in Britain and when canoeing you often see
people swimming or sunbathing naked.. There is usually plenty of hot weather in summer
and the water temperature was often 20-25ºC. There are many bathing places on the
lakes, often with swimming jetties and sometimes with diving platforms. Initially I tended
only to swim at those that were deserted, but as my confidence grew I asked people
present if they minded me swimming naked and found that very few minded and often
followed my example. Even families with children rarely minded. In the hot weather I
often paddled naked, just covering up with a towel when necessary. It was often possible
to be naked when camping in the wilderness.
My foot got bad enough for me to be forced to take early retirement from teaching,
but it has improved in recent years and I have got back to mountain walking. In 2002 I
made a successful attempt on the 2700-mile Pacific Crest Trail, which follows the Sierra
Nevada and Cascade Mountains from the Mexican to the Canadian border through
California, Oregon and Washington. Along the way I discovered a number of hot springs
where nudity seemed to be the rule, rather than the exception. This was where I got the
trail name “Ancient Brit”.