Reading this thread you'd think nobody ever wears clothes in Sherwood Forest. 

Posted by: @stewart

Reading this thread you'd think nobody ever wears clothes in Sherwood Forest. 

Not if we can help it. I saw a fellow naturist today but only from a distance, saw one on Saturday too but he disappeared into the trees as I pulled up at the pumping station. Didn't see him again.

Today as I approached the many gates at Budby I saw a guy walking my way, I put a bit of pace on hoping to be through the next gate before meeting him. Well you guessed it He was going through the same gate. I got there about 3 paces before him," Hello, alright" I said. No answer! " I'll leave the gate for you" No answer. Ignorant T***. Then as I walked off I could  feel his glare in my back.

Saw a few others out but not to speak to. Dropped a bit chilly again as I got back to the car.

The new signs on Swinecoat Road made me smile, did wonder though if they are telling us where we can park surely they should then make it fit to park, some of those holes make my my front valance scrape. If I have to park where  directed to do so can I claim if I damage my car? Doubt it!  

I have received the email below from the warden for Sherwood forest where we have built up good relations and naked walking is quite common. It is disappointing to hear that a couple of people are potentially spoiling things. We have no idea if theses are genuine naturists being too enthusiastic or someone else trying to cause trouble for us. I have posted the email in the hope that the message reaches the people responsible and they can realise that this sort of behaviour is not helpful. I will be posting this same post on several naturist web sites and I am not pointing the finger anywhere as I have no idea who it is or what the motives are. I have not actually seen the complaints myself.

Dear David,

Unfortunately right at the end of my working days before leave I’ve had numerous complaints about a pair of naked men who are “aggressively trying to recruit and engage” with visitors across Sherwood and Budby. The most recent being from NCC customer services who have themselves received many calls about it.

I wondered if you were aware of any such people and whether or not you’d been able to engage with them to pass on the message this behaviour clearly isn’t falling in line with what we’d consider acceptable. As you know, there is a world of difference between a cheery hello and polite conversation after gauging the response of others compared to what has been described. To receive so many complaints reporting similar behaviour seems to indicate these particular men are not familiar with the area or our policy.

I’ve cc’d David Terry in, as he is the one who you met last week and will be taking on responsibility for Budby while I’m away.

Best wishes and cheerio,

Chloe

Slightly unclear, this is a pair of them doing this separately or together? I've only really seen individuals.

@the-tibetan-hat I assumed it meant two people together, However I have asked for more information.

I too only ever see individuals. I did see a guy hanging around one of the seats a few weeks back as I talked to you about David but other than that I have seen nothing untoward.

I would have thought between those of us on here that frequent the area at different times of day we would have seen something.

What you say appears a little vague to me, what exactly do they mean? I can't help wondering if it is a group of people ganging up to cause trouble because they don't like what we do.

I was out today from 5 pm for an hour and a half and did not see another person, not even from a distance.

@tribalbrit Yes I know what you mean, that's why I have asked for more information. It could well be someone trying to cause problems for us.

I have had the  response below from the warden. It all sounds very strange to me.

Hi David,

 Thanks for being so responsive and taking this positively.

 As far as I am aware it is a mix of activity. We have had the local police come to site and speak with another member of staff after several complaints of people being approached for naturist recruitment by both clothed and non-clothed people, mostly by two men it seems. I have had one telephone call about recruitment too, but not much detail was given, plus several other general comments about encountering naturists in both Sherwood and Budby, again no specific detail unfortunately. We also received an email complaint from NCC which reads as follows:

We are contracting you today, with some concerns from the public in regards to the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve. 

We have had multiple contacts from the local public stating concerns due to nudist exposing themselves with local visitors going to the site and how this is of concern to them.

 A couple of major points for the concerns is;

 - It's not just one nudist its groups of them, mainly males. 

- Nudist are being quite bold and not just letting public go past they are egging them on to talk.

- Family's going to the site for leisure are being exposed to these people.

- This site has regular use from schools taking children to learn about the major oak and Robin Hood they could be at risk of witnessing this exposure.

 We have responded to both NCC and the police with our approach and highlighted our policy, which you are familiar with.

 No one has mentioned leaflets or materials it seems, but several complaints have been made about feeling overtly approached/being stopped to talk about naturism in a way that made them very uncomfortable, whether clothed or not. This detail as well as the volume of complaints from different sources is what unusual to the normal comments we receive, and why I raised it with you - so thank you for taking it seriously and helping to investigate it.

 Best wishes and cheerio,

 Chloe

I'm sorry but I think this is a load of bollocks. As you know I walk this area almost daily and cover 5 to 7 miles daily. As do you. I have never seen such behaviour. In fact it is only since the pandemic that I have seen and met other naturists at all.

The more I read of this the more I am convinced that it is group of people getting their heads together to cause trouble and try and put a  stop what we do.

In the last couple of weeks I have met Mr Grumpy and Mr Ignorant T***. I have spoken to both to be polite but would not be surprised to find either of these had made a complaint, given the reaction I received in saying Hello.

And as far as the NCC complaint goes they obviously have no idea how far away Budby Common is from the Major Oak Tree and all respectful naturists stay well clear of the touristy bit of the forest, I would hope.

May I ask that you enquire further to see if you can get times and dates for alleged incidents? I would suggest that if these are not forthcoming then my initial statement stands.

Why would anyone try to recruit naturists? Unless again this in it's self is an attempt to discredit us.

Again a very quiet walk this afternoon, again not a soul seen, mind you it was 7 degrees but felt like minus 2. Even the clothed people stayed away and definitely No recruitment agents to be seen.

Not sure how anybody else feels but I rather think I'll give Budby a miss for while if naturist use is starting to cause this trouble, or attract bad behaviour. I can count on the fingers on one hand how many people I've met or come anywhere close to in probably 20-25 miles of walking so far this year, but these reports cast a unsettling shadow over the whole thing.

And really, considering what we sometimes see on beaches I'm inclined to take the reports at face value, even if they are a bit mystifying to us.

@the-tibetan-hat. Not that I go hiking in Sherwood Forest but tend to agree with you entirely. I still feel that (sadly) individuals run risks that groups of naturist ramblers do not. It's rather like football where I'm sure many fans just go along to watch and enjoy the match but there is a distinct percentage of hooligans who give the crowd a bad name. Similarly reckless motorcyclists. I don't know how genuine naturists can get around this problem?

@tribalbrit I must say that my experience is much like yours, I would be very surprised to find this happening. However we need to get to the bottom of this and my next step is to arrange a meeting with Notts County Council to get more information and give them the opportunity to learn more about naturism and for them to hear our side of the story.

@dgildoo I am far from being a regular naked walker and live too far away to use Sherwood Forest anyway but I am following this saga with great interest.

The only potentially useful thing I can suggest is that it wold be helpful if the police and/or NCC could share with you the date, time and location if they have them available in the hope that they can take advantage of your inside knowledge and the assistance of such members as you consider reliable to track down the culprits.

Edited to add:
I realise that this must have already been considered and apologise if I have missed it in the topic.

Posted by: @gwalterj

The only potentially useful thing I can suggest is that it wold be helpful if the police and/or NCC could share with you the date, time and location if they have them

That is what I will be trying to get my hands on but theses days with information protection I am not holding my breath.

Trying to interpret the messages from both the warden and NCC (Nottingham City Council?) they read to me as people who are objecting to/uncertain of naturist use are expressing the situation differently from how the naturists and the non-objectors see things. The classic misunderstanding.

From my days in various support/help jobs the most common approach people take is to exaggerate their problems (perhaps unconsciously) to justify asking for help and trying to expedite it; and/or they try to understand what's happening and express it incorrectly, leading to confusion all round. I suspect this could well be the case here, and of course anyone in authority presented with a complaint/query that could look bad in the press will respond with an arse-covering overreaction. at least in this case there seems to be an attempt to discover facts before overreacting.

Hope it does all come down to simple misunderstandings which can be resolved. Like JohnGw I'm too far away to be of immediate help but you have my crossed fingers at your disposal, gildo.