About BN

The Great British Spring Clean is taking place this spring from 20 March to 13 April 2020. It is being organized by Keep Britain Tidy in association with the Daily Mail, amongst other partners. I casually tweeted about naturists taking part in the Great British Spring Clean (#GBSpringClean) because we naturists love our environment and we share the responsibility for looking after it with our clothed neighbours. However, the tweet was spotted by a journalist from the Daily Mail newspaper who con

The core values of British Naturism are respect for ourselves and respect for each other, so this is what we would like to see recognised in the hate crime consultation.  The Naturist philosophy has been recognised as a protected characteristic in cases where people have been dismissed from their jobs based on prejudice.  What we would like is to see naturism recognised as a protected characteristic with regards to hate crime, so that we are not be abused in our day to day lives. These days we a

Mike ‘Mupp’ Watson tracks his journey from newbie to nudie ‘Try it for the first time,’ they said. But just how many firsts are there? Well let me tell you, there have been many, so many, read on…  The Beginning My first time ever was a naked swim at Chepstow with the Western Swim Club, over three years ago now. I was nervous but admit that within ten minutes the feeling of complete freedom from not wearing swim shorts was amazing. That was it, hooked and no looking back. I w

The British Naturism events team are back at Birmingham’s NEC this week at the Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show. Over the next few days we will hand out over 2000 copies of our ‘2020 guide to Naturism’ and make sure that Naturism is out in the open, educating and informing a parallel audience about the benefits of Naturism. Our stand is in Hall 4 - on the main aisle linking the halls. Around us are various holiday companies, parks and resorts and its great to see we are not the only on

The last decade has certainly been interesting for British Naturism.  We are a venerable organisation with a rich history, and over the last ten years we have been modernising to ensure we are relevant to naturists of today.  In 2018 we launched a short-term strategy to pick up the loose ends that had accumulated.  As a result of all the work, we now have a reputation for professionalism that brings respect from other organisations.  We have a strong and modern image.  We have a portfolio of act

A cautionary tale by Andy Wyman It was a cold, bitter night and felt as if the Arctic Circle had moved South. The streets were empty and people sensed something was going to happen. The locals were all at home, doors locked and bolted, security cameras scanning and dogs unsettled. Abingdon was no place for the faint hearted on a normal Saturday night. But this was no normal Saturday night. Even the pubs stood quiet and when I entered the Broad Face Pub the landlord stared straight at me. It

You may have seen coverage in the local and national press recently about the cancellation of the regular monthly Naturist swim in Alton, Hampshire. As you would expect, BN is working to support our local members and other swimmers who have been affected by this misguided action. The Naturist swim in Alton ran successfully for over thirty years, regularly attracting swimmers from across the South of England on a Sunday evening. Unlike many Naturist swims, it was operated by the local leisur

Artists and art teachers have promoting the idea that schools should have regular life drawing classes with fully nude models.  Anne Noble-Partridge said that life drawing in schools could teach children about real human bodies before their ideas become corrupted by the nonsense we see on social media. ‘You are accepting of whatever you are looking at, whether they are old, or overweight, or hairy. You introduce young people and children who haven't got ingrained prejudices, ideas of disgus

Got a friend who wants to know more about BN?  Want to show people in your club or who you meet on holiday why they should be joining us?  Need a brochure to give to your local swimming pool to convince them to organise a skinny dip?  Want to find out more about British Naturism’s activities? Here’s the answer - BN’s NEW Guide to 2020, a full colour, fully illustrated promotional publication that has it all - a guide to British Naturism in 2020 including our events, our campa

The Eastern region event was a Christmas Dinner at the Three Counties Asylum near Hitchin. At least that's what it used to be called in less enlightened days. It's now part of the Bannatyne Leisure empire and called The Orchard and is next to their health spa. The buildings, from the Victorian era, are stunning and the restaurant is in what was the chapel. Apparently there was a real scandal there some years ago when the resident vicar married someone forty years younger. The Orchard is a great

This year marks a personal milestone. I will be celebrating my fortieth! Birthday? No, that has long passed! This year is my fortieth anniversary of becoming a Naturist! I did not want this celebration to pass unrecognised, so I asked my husband if we could retrace my steps and go to where I first stripped off and ran into the sea, so I could do it all over again. But as an older lady, I must admit, I did not run as fast as last time! Four decades ago, I was a staff member on a seconda

Almost 500 naked guests filled Splash Landings Hotel and Waterpark at Alton Towers last weekend - and had blast! There were stretch classes, yoga, guided tours of the Alton Towers gardens, crafts, indoor archery, life drawing, body painting, waterpolo, aquarobics, a mad quiz and even madder bingo! Zoo Lab brought snakes and other creatures and got up close and personal with us and we danced the night away to live music. Best of all was the joy of being amongst our wonderful, relaxed communi

500 Naturists will descend on Alton Towers' Splash Landings Hotel and Waterpark this weekend for our thirteenth annual naked weekend. It's a complete sell-out! The theme park is closed at this time of year but BN members have the run of the entire Hotel and Waterpark. Clothes are not needed anywhere from 6pm on Friday night until midday on Sunday. In addition to all the fun there is to be had in the waterpark, guests will enjoy sports and exercise classes, quizzes, life drawing, live bands

Last weekend Naturist Team GB headed to the International Naturist Federation (INF) Swimming Gala in Paris.... Well done to the team who retained our standing as second in the world with a massive 24 gold medals and a whopping 40 medal haul in total!

It was great to be back at Oasis Beach Pool in Bedford last weekend for another Waterpark event. Around 120 Naturists from all over came to have a fun session in the pool and on the slides.   The event was recently revived by a member from the Eastern region contacting the pool directly and once permission was granted, the British Naturism Event Team took it on from there and made it happen – a perfect example of how some BN Team Work with a push from a local member can really make a differe

Early October saw our second venture to the land of the south folk - Folkcafe near Bury St Edmunds, and again it was a sellout. 37 guests attended and enjoyed starters of sharing platters of mediterranean treats. This was followed by either beef and barley-bean casserole or lentil and aubergine bake and finished off with chocolate torte or apple and almond cake, both served with ice-cream. The food was delicious, the venue was delightful and the company and conversation convivial. There wa

Naturists came from all over the UK coming together to help shape the future of BN. On Saturday around forty members from our Eastern and LASER regions met at one of the oldest sun clubs in the UK, The Sunfolk Society, established in 1931, for a Vision Day. It was the second in the series and and was designed for feedback and discussion rather than presentation based. Most of the time is given to members to collaborate and have their say.  We also held our AGM - another opportunity for

A great weekend was had by all in Amsterdam for the BN-organised weekend to Spa Zuiver. It's a huge and amazing place with multiple saunas, pools, hot tubs and relaxing areas with a hotel in the same building and restaurants and bars. Needless to say, swimming costumes are banned in the spa area. Our group also spent time in the city, as our photo shows, enjoying unseasonably warm weather. Two more such weekends are planned for 2020. Keep an eye out for details.

The summer may be coming to an end, but Naturist events in the UK keep going... Keep an eye on our various event listings and find details of fantastic gatherings happening soon, including nude evenings at top waterparks, hotel weekends (including the best one of the year at Alton Towers), overseas holidays, and hundreds of regular swimming sessions where a costume is not needed! See you there!   The BN event ticket sales website Big Days Out The BN website calendar

Of all the places I thought I’d be having a conversation about what motivates me as a Naturist and the finer points of our legal rights, the bar at the Corrour Station House probably wasn’t at the top of my list… The idea for the Highland Wilderness and Walking Weekend, which took place on the Corrour Estate in the central Highlands of Scotland in July, seemed perhaps too ‘specialist’ when I came up with it in 2018. Would people really be interested in a weekend staying in a very remote you

As the representative body of Naturism in the UK, British Naturism has a responsibility to promote and protect Naturism. Over the last few years there have been advances that affect our daily lives. The Crown Prosecution Service guidance that nudity is not itself criminal if there is no sexual content or intent has been reinforced by the work of Peter and Christine Wright to have the College of Policing recognise that a police response to Naturism is not necessary and that call centres should be

Eighteen radio interviews in one day! The BBC's General News Service picked up this story and decided it was worth covering. They promoted the idea to all BBC local and regional radio stations and for two solid hours we were interviewed, one by one, by a variety of presenters and shows - some recorded, some live on air. Later, a few more stations, including BBC Radio 5Live, who broadcast nationally, asked us to speak.  It was a great platform for us to promote Naturism in the UK (which

A shout out to Bare Necessities Tour and Travel, the world's leading providers of nude cruises, who are kindly sponsoring three big  British Naturism events this year - at Blackpool, Nudefest and Alton Towers - tickets now on sale for the latter! We are very grateful for sponsorship support which allows us to add activities to the evens which otherwise may not be possible.  Bare Necessities run three or four cruises each year and are currently taking bookings for: Western Caribbea

It’s great to announce that we had one of the busiest national galas in years take place at Aylestone Leisure Centre near Leicester. Around 60 swimmers took to the pool for an evening of both competitive an ‘have a go’ swimming. That’s the real attraction of the BN Gala. Nobody is expected to be the next Olympian and whilst it’s hard not to notice there are some are better swimmers than others - it’s about taking part, having fun and challenging yourself. It’s all official - British Naturis

It's our last full day today at the UK's biggest Naturist festival. Around 500 guests have enjoyed a packed programme of activities including sports, health and well-being, art and crafts, music and entertainment, talks and workshops, naked trips to local venues including a cider farm, a steam train, dining in a pub and a house and garden.  We've been welcomed by the local community with many companies and people coming in to run sessions. BBC Radio Somerset's Andy Bennett even broadcast hi