I'd better start this section going since I suggested it... Where have you managed to go skinny dipping in the UK? Any river, lake, waterfall etc where others might be interested in trying too.
I had my first local skinny dip last week, in the Wey Navigation on a very quiet stretch of river bank nearly opposite the picturesque Newark Priory. It was easy enough to undress and slip into the water unseen, but the strong currents after such heavy rain put me off trying to reach the opposite bank. Picture proof attached!
If you are thinking of going on a wild swim, take a look at some of the websites that give advice on safety, such as the Outdoor Swimming Society http://www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/ or buy the guidebooks Wild Swim and Wild Swimming. Even textiles might be tempted to ditch their costumes in the right circumstances, so nice is it to skinny dip in natural water!
By way of lazyness I refer you to this old topic of mine.
http://www.naturist-corner.net/community/index.php?topic=5031.0
Perhaps Tony would like to move it here.
JOhn
Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionaries
Also this post http://www.naturist-corner.net/community/index.php?topic=1695.msg15073#msg15073 in my boating topic.
JOhn
Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionaries
Also just above Upton-on-Severn
Click on picture for large version.
JOhn
Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionaries
Gosh that's superb. I wonder if there's any stretch of water in Oxfordshire where you HAVEN'T skinny dipped! 😀
The map locations are particularly helpful, I will try to give that a go with my site on the Wey Navigation in Surrey, though these always look like a mess when I try to add long links: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=51.3069N+0.5027W&hl=en&sll=51.30603,-0.502065&sspn=0.002887,0.006282&t=f&z=16&ecpose=51.3067014,-0.5027,1533.69,0,0.838,0
Thanks
Nick
If you turn the BB Code into something like this
[url= http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=51.3069N+0.5027W&hl=en&sll=51.30603,-0.502065&sspn=0.002887,0.006282&t=f&z=16
&ecpose=51.3067014,-0.5027,1533.69,0,0.838,0]near Newark Abbey[/url]
you will end up which something that looks like this:
JOhn
Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionaries
Looking at the google earth picture, I am almost sure that I skinny-dipped there early one morning in the late 1970's when boating on the Wey Navigation.
That morning I swam across into the backwater opposite and sunbathed for a bit on a secluded part of the bank before swimming back.
Now I am in reminiscing mode, I have also early morning skinny-dipped in the backwaters below St. Catherine's lock here at the same period.
JOhn
Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionaries
Grantchester meadows in cambridge is really good, and on the river fowey in cornwall, my profile pic was taken on the lanhydrock estate very quiet secluded part of the river for paddling and swim. As john suggested have a look at Wild Swimming by daniel Start, it is a fantastic book i never leave home without it, oh and bare britain, have fun and enjoy.
Life isn't surviving the storm, its learning to dance in the rain.
My inland skinnydip spots:
The river Thames between Maidenhead and Marlow, in a number of different spots, mostly early morning, but also when others have been around. On one occasion while I was swimming, a women of about 70 stood on the side chatting to me. I told her I was not wearing a costume and needed to get out before I got too cold, so if nudity was going to worry her she should look away for a moment. Her reply? "Oh, no problem to me, I used to skinny dip here quite regularly when I was young enough that people still enjoyed watching". Cheered me up no end.
In the lake below the waterfall at Llanberris after a hot and sticky walk up Snowdon; it was cold, but very invigorating and I certainly was not sweating when I got back out.
Derwent Water Reservoir County Durham. Other folks around paid no attention to me when I got out (there had been no one there when I decided to swim).
Blackstone reservoir, in the Pennines north east of Bury. I've also swum in another of the reservoirs in that area though I don't remember the name now.
There are plenty of others that I don't recall at present. My general take is that if I'm away from buildings and very busy areas (and it is safe) then a swim is not likely to offend anyone. So far my experience has supported that theory.
Have fun,
Ian.
It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
There are hundreds of pools and rivers in the wild parts of the UK. One that springs to mind (unintentional pun) is the Teifi Pools in Mid Wales a little to the north of Tregaron. They are reservoirs so it may be illegal, but with no-one about???
I've dipped in several streams around the Berwyns in Wales too.
The best ever wild swim was a warm hot spring fed stream in NZ. Now if we could find one in the UK?
Davie 8)
Does getting tangled up with a tree washed out to sea off of the Costa Brava (when I was a textile bather) and losing my costume count? Other than that only diving to unfoul the screw of a cabin cruiser on the great Ouse or possibly the River Lark before it drained into the Ouse.
Does getting tangled up with a tree washed out to sea off of the Costa Brava (when I was a textile bather) and losing my costume count? Other than that only diving to unfoul the screw of a cabin cruiser on the great Ouse or possibly the River Lark before it drained into the Ouse.
You have reminded me of the many times that I have stripped naked (except for goggles) in canals all over the country to deal with underwater problems.
The only time I have ever worn a swimsuit for this task was last May Day bank holiday when I needed to clear the propeller of the London Canal Museum's tug at Little Venice.
It was during Canalway Cavalcade with thousands of people milling around and watching.
JOhn
Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
George Bernard Shaw, Maxims for Revolutionaries
I swim naked whenever and wherever the opportunity arises. Mostly in the sea, as it's only half an hour away, but intend to swim the rivers Test and Itchen this summer. There's an excellent map of wild swimming locations at http://wildswim.com/ which anyone can add to . There's a filter to show sites suitable for skinny dipping - I've added several locations myself (mostly Purbeck).
That WildSwim website is superb, thank you for the link (previous posting). Looks like there's also a very keen naturist who lives in Devon, judging by the number of rivers and lakes that are recommended there.
I first discovered this website thanks to a search about skinny dipping. I wonder if it's possible to set up a skinny dipping map location, I'm sure we could cover the country with nude bathing sites. Like another post earlier said, it's also very unlikely to prompt a negative reaction if done in the right spirit (ie it's obvious to a passer by that you are simply going swimming).
Mainly in the sea around Norfolk - on both nude and textile beaches. Also, in a friends pool and in the sea in Portugal. But whenever I see water that's what I want to do so hoping for more this year.