2019 will soon be behind us, but 2020 already promises to be a great year for naturism in London and the South East!
As the year draws to a close it’s a good time to look forward at all of the opportunities that we’ll have to meet together as naturists next year - for some of us this will a chance to continue our enjoyment of social nudity, and for others the first step on their journey
Established naturist clubs and swims will continue to be at the heart of naturism in our region - we’re lucky to have well-established naturist clubs from the Isle of Wight to Dover. Although all clubs will have their own policies, many of them will welcome you for day or longer visits. Contact details for all BN member clubs are published in each edition of the BN magazine, or you can find them in the Places section of the BN website
We are also lucky to have a number of naturist swims that take place across our region every month in Southampton, Portsmouth, Ewell, Central London, Eastbourne and Dover. Swims can be a great introduction to naturism if you are just starting out, so why not head along to your local swim in the New Year? You’ll also find details of all swims listed in the BN magazine or in the Places section of the website. Special mention must go to the swim in Alton in Hampshire - after more than 20 years the last swim will take place on 05 January 2020. We’re looking for an alternative venue, but it would be great to see as many naturists as possible support the final swim at the current venue
For the hardiest naturists amongst us, beach visits, walks and enjoying the outdoors will continue throughout the year and we are lucky to have many established naturist beaches throughout the region. Head to the Places section of the website for a listing. Our beaches include the ‘official’ beaches at Brighton and Leysdown to places with a long-established tradition of naturist use like Fairlight Glen (featuring in the picture of your correspondent at the bottom of this article!)
2020 will also see a number of one-off naturist events, so now is a good time to update you on some of what we have planned so you can start planning your diary!
Taking the lead from other BN regions, naked dining will be coming to London and the South East in the New Year:
We’re teaming up with the Eastern Region on Saturday 08 February for an evening cruise on the River Lea from Ware - with fish and chips laid on. You can book your place using the BN Events site, or follow this Link
In March, we’ll be taking over the Blue Lion pub in Central London for lunch on Sunday 01 March. Tickets for the lunch are also available via BN Events, or follow this Link
Looking further ahead, in the west of our region we have arranged a naturist evening at the Mill Arms in Dunbridge, close to Romsey on Friday 14 August. We hope to have tickets on sale for this early in the New Year, but we’ll have our own private room and bar for the evening, a two course meal and skittles!
We are very lucky to have two established naturist walking groups that operate in our region. The fantastic Stark Trekkers hold monthly walks throughout the year. All of their events and details of how to join are listed on the Regional Calendar. The Naturist Ramblers group also holds frequent walks between April and October - often attracting more than 30 walkers to experience clothes-free walking on a variety of different routes. You’ll find more details of their walks and how to join them on their Website
We also have a range of other events for you to enjoy in 2020:
On Thursday 26 March we will be heading to Hollywood Bowl in Ashford for an evening of ten-pin bowling. This follows a successful event in Tunbridge Wells earlier this year - and we hope to organise another bowling evening in Basingstoke later in 2020. Tickets for the Ashford event are already on sale at BN Events via this Link - your ticket will include a drink and a buffet as well as the bowling
For a truly unique experience, we’ve teamed up with the East Sussex Llama Park to organise an evening event on Thursday 11 June. This will give you the chance to walk with Llamas and to find out more about the llama park before sitting down to a three-course meal. The venue is really family-freindly, so why not bring your children (or grandchildren!) along for the evening. Tickets are available via BN Events or via this Link
We are also very proud to be hosting a family meet-up at Max’s Garden between 07 and 09 August. This will be open to families with children under 18 only and great opportunity to meet other naturist families in a relaxed setting. Tickets are available via BN Events or via this Link
And finally, we’re pleased that two higher profile events will be held in our region next year:
Between 22 and 25 May BN will host the first ever Freedom Festival outside Lewes in West Sussex. This will be a relaxed festival with a focus on body positivity. Tickets are already on sale for this event - head to BN Events, or follow this Link
On Saturday 20 June BN will be working together with the British Heart Foundation and Painshill Park in Surrey to host the Naked Heart Walk. This is a unique event to raise funds for the BHF through a naked sponsored walk. Painshill is a stunning landscape garden close to London - what better way to enjoy it than by joining a naked walk to raise money for charity at the height of summer? You can find our more information about this event by following this Link. It could also be the perfect ‘excuse’ for any of your friends who have been thinking about joining a naturist event to get involved!
Hopefully there will something here to interest most people - whether you are an experienced naturist or taking your first steps in our wonderful lifestyle
We’re working on new ideas all the time, so if there is something that you’d like to see that we haven’t thought of then please do let me know - jon.williams@bn.org.uk
