I had a good 6.5 mile naked walk in Sherwood forest this morning. There were very few people around. The crane has gone from the waterworks parking place. There was a loud explosion quite close to me at one point near where the MOD are clearing the site. On my walk back I approached the site from a different direction and there was a guy with yellow jacket sat on a stool. I commented that it looked like he had a good job and he said he was stopping people getting too close to the site as more explosives were to be set off. It appears that a number of live tank shells have been discovered and they are exploding them on site. I will be walking with another naturist tomorrow, Friday at 10 am if anyone would like to join us. Meet at the waterworks parking place.
Was out there in the afternoon myself, getting April in while the weather is nice, I won't get the chance over the bank holiday weekend. A couple of hours filling in the variety of loops on the common. A few families around so my shorts went on and off a couple of times, otherwise quite blissfully uneventful. Dogs were about 25% on lead, 75% off, which is a bit sad to see at this time of the year.
Seems like the first walk I've done there in ages when I've NOT crossed paths with another naturist, at least not in such fine weather anyway.
I too was out this afternoon/evening. Dog off lead but still under control.
2 and a half hours.
Yesterday too. Saw another naked guy but not sure if a naturist or not.?
How sad to see dogs on a lead. A walk in the woods is there way of being with nature too
My dog is rarely on a lead, if she was she would think she had done something wrong. However i can demonstrate close control, and distance control and she never interferes with nesting birds. In fact she spent hours just keeping an eye on a fledgling in our garden to keep the neighbours cats away.
She is a border collie though
How sad to see dogs on a lead. A walk in the woods is there way of being with nature too
While I agree with you, the sheer number of dogs running around these days is a massive problem. Dogs range considerable distances and create a major disturbance for wildlife, far more than their owners who largely keep to the paths. Many nature reserves have impoverished wildlife as a result of disturbance by dogs. The pandemic rush to buy dogs has exacerbated the problem in many parts of the country, not ro mention the accompanying countless discarded ‘doggy bags’.
While dogs are good for getting people out for health benefits and are good company for some, environmentally friendly they are not.
Tread lightly upon the earth
6 of us had a very nice 8.25 mile naked walk in Sherwood Forest today in the sunshine. There weren't too many people about and those we met were very pleasant.
How sad to see dogs on a lead. A walk in the woods is there way of being with nature too
While I agree with you, the sheer number of dogs running around these days is a massive problem. Dogs range considerable distances and create a major disturbance for wildlife, far more than their owners who largely keep to the paths. Many nature reserves have impoverished wildlife as a result of disturbance by dogs. The pandemic rush to buy dogs has exacerbated the problem in many parts of the country, not ro mention the accompanying countless discarded ‘doggy bags’.
While dogs are good for getting people out for health benefits and are good company for some, environmentally friendly they are not.
You are tarring all dogs and their owners with the same brush, something i am sure you would disagree with for other things, such as naturists.
My dogs, all four of them, do not stray off the paths, will not go out of sight and walk round the birdlife we see along the river every day. in fact if see someone coming will run back to the heal without any command.
Too many places are banning dogs off leads due to those that done control their dogs or because of such views.
How sad to see dogs on a lead. A walk in the woods is there way of being with nature too
Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned anything, but since I did... in particular the area of Sherwood in which the RSPB officially 'tolerate' naturism (for want of a better word) is a National Nature Reserve and one of the main reasons for that are the very rare ground nesting birds, it's that special status that is key. That's why usually right alongside the posters about naturism they have ones about keeping dogs on leads. I suppose for me harmony with nature is a big part of naturism, which I think includes leaving natural habitats as I found them, i.e. not dropping litter or picking flowers, and limiting whatever disturbance I may cause the wildlife.
Although it's a slightly different situation, the estate I work on lost 25 lambs to dogs off leads last year, the most ever. One of the things we work on is normalising people keeping dogs on leads, it's much harder to convince those who can't control their dogs to keep them on leads if the next dogwalkers they see aren't doing it too. And for that matter our views is that if a dog is under close control popping it on a lead can't make that much difference to the walking experience anyway. Last week an incident I dealt involved a women with three dogs and just one lead, they'd chased a ewe and lambs onto cattle grid with horrible results, she said she didn't need her dogs on leads because she kept them under command, that they'd never done it before and couldn't see what the problem was.
Wish I'd been out at Sherwood today, gorgeous weather! Since I've been walking at all times of year 19c sounds almost too warm!
I have seen similar before and there are a lot of idiots. I dont know what the law is down there but we have to abide by the Scottish Outdoor Access Code which seems to work in some areas. I was talking with the Police on Wednesday after i reported a motor bike where it shouldnt be. At best he will get a fixed penalty, at worse, confiscation. I picked up his licence plate and the Police are running with it.
You are tarring all dogs and their owners with the same brush, something i am sure you would disagree with for other things, such as naturists.
My dogs, all four of them, do not stray off the paths, will not go out of sight and walk round the birdlife we see along the river every day. in fact if see someone coming will run back to the heal without any command.
Too many places are banning dogs off leads due to those that done control their dogs or because of such views.
I hear what you're saying. It's always the small minority ruining it for everyone else.
However remember when rules get made this is indeed exactly how things work because realistically there's simply no alternative. You'll never find RSPB saying "Mrs Wiggin's poodle must be kept on a lead" or "Jack Frosts alsation 'Frodo' is not welcome here". It's simply all or nothing. This means if a land owner decides the downsides of allowing dog walkers there is too severe, they simply ban all dog walkers.
I'm a volunteer warder for a local woodland and officially the rule is dogs must be kept on a lead at all times. Sure the dog wants to be in nature too, but people do need to remember what a nature reserve means. It's an area reserved FOR nature. Not for us, or our pets, but for nature first and foremost. We're an impoverished land when it comes to nature, but not when it comes to the miles and miles of public footpaths. So I've no objection to land owners being strict on specific nature reserves.
(I would completely ban dogs from the woodland I help manage if I was anything more than a volunteer - I've got fed up of picking up poo bags slung into bushes and the sheer verbal abuse if we ever ask people to put their dog on a lead, grrr! Or one time being attacked by a dog, with the owner 100 yards away.)
Incidentally this is why I also always try to encourage the responsible dog owners to help police the irresponsible ones. You as a responsible owner may have good control of your dog and pick up after it, but the actions of others will at some point impact on your enjoyment, so challenge others if you wish to keep your freedoms.
You are tarring all dogs and their owners with the same brush, something i am sure you would disagree with for other things, such as naturists.
Not intended, but as I said, it is in part a numbers issue. Even well behaved dogs cause distrurbance unless kept on their leads all the time, but a greater proportion of new dog owners do not know how to train their dogs or, worse still, how to behave and clean up after them. For responsible dog owners, I have sympathy but it doesn’t change some of the simple maths.
Tread lightly upon the earth
Believe me i do.
I must ask though,'officially rule is dog on lead' is this private land? Legally law says 'dog under close control' which is different, therefore unless private land to make it law to be on lead you need to pass a byelaw. something even most councils done understand.
I had another good 5.5 mile naked walk in Sherwood Forest today. Very few walkers about but more than usual cyclists. I met another naturist while walking who told me that it was his first time walking the area, I showed him around a little and walked with him for about a mile. Everyone we met was friendly..