Further to my earlier post, I did get some nude hiking done on our holiday in Swaledale in June. First time I've ever tried it and what a great experience. We walked out of sight of the main road for around 10 minutes and as we were up high on the moors, we could see the path for 100's of yards ahead so I went for it. My wife decided to stay dressed as she was still a bit worried, but we walked for several miles and never saw another person. A tremendous feeling of freedom and being alive.

I have since done another couple of naked walks in the local hills near home as I enjoy it so much and hope to get another couple in before the weather puts me off.

How and when can we educate the public (and police) that nakedness is not illegal in Britain.  There is too much ambiguity and lack of understanding.  If nakedness is perfectly legal, we should not have to hide or cover up when approached by people for fear of the prospect of being arrested, investigated and facing a possible court case because of someone's attitude and 'guided' statement.  It takes away the enjoyment and relaxing benefits of naturism and makes you think, 'Is it worth it?' It all hangs on whether a  person decides if they were 'shocked or distressed' by your nakedness so your fate really is in their hands and if it goes to court, what is the chance of getting a naturist jury? or judge for that matter! ?  We need more clarification It either legal or illegal.  No grey areas.  People have the option to look away which is easier and has exactly the same effect as someone covering up or hiding. Why should we have to cover up or hide when they can simply look away? Now if a naked person approaches someone against their will, that is an offence as it would be if they are clothed.  Just saying.

How and when can we educate the public (and police) that nakedness is not illegal in Britain.
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Much is being done within British Naturism on this theme, especially with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service have guidelines which approximate very closely to what we need thanks to some serious negotiations by BN representatives.
As for educating the public, I think the best bet is to rely on the high level of acceptance we already have and work on the police until a report of a naturist rambler by the intolerant 10% gets a reply to the effect of "Naked rambling is not illegal. If you persist you will be prosecuted for wasting police time."

How and when can we educate the public (and police) that nakedness is not illegal in Britain.
...
We need more clarification It either legal or illegal.  No grey areas.

Hello FlipG59,

On your first point (education), you can easily help to assist in changing public perception. One way to do this is to respond to news articles with the naturist positive angle. In particular, where there are newspaper articles about nudity you could up-vote positive comments and down-vote negative comments as well as adding your own comments. You don't have to get involved in convoluted arguments - but where there is plain silliness then just point it out. For example, "outraged by the naked man who ran past and said hello" - so what is the problem with saying "hello" and which "slippery slope" is that on? (We know that you know how to post as you have made 13 posts in the past month here  🙂 )

On your second point (complete clarity of law) - that will not happen because that is the nature of the beast. Take an analogy - it is "not illegal to run in the street". But, it is an offense to "harass, alarm or distress" members of the public, so if your running in the street alarms and/or distresses people (and the most vulnerable are probably the very old and infirm or children) then it could be an offense. The only way to make the law unambiguous for "running in the street" is to make it illegal under all circumstances - the same with "nudity in public" - but we don't want that!

Your best bet is to assist in changing public attitudes in any way that you can. Comments to media articles is one way. There are other examples - BN has a campaign to "Tell Just One Person" meaning that if all naturists were to tell just one person (friend, relative or colleague) about their own interest in naturism then it should help to improve the public perception of naturism.

Perhaps a significant factor is that most of the population just don't care but when they hear the prudes ranting then they are overawed by the certainty contained in the rants and dare not express the opposite view. Thus, influencing the "don't cares" may help by isolating the prudes.

John

Good advice John!  Thank you

I'm new to this site and have occasionally done naked walking in the streets around my home, though only in the wee small hours of the morning! I live in a cul-de-sac and recently woke up at 2.40am and knowing I would be awake for quite a while, went out for a stroll around some local streets.

Didn't see anyone (not surprising I suppose).  The walk was about 25minutes long and the only things I wore l was a watch and trainers. I didn't even carry any clothing with me. Hoping to do it again soon!

I'm new to this site and have occasionally done naked walking in the streets around my home, though only in the wee small hours of the morning! I live in a cul-de-sac and recently woke up at 2.40am and knowing I would be awake for quite a while, went out for a stroll around some local streets.

Didn't see anyone (not surprising I suppose).  The walk was about 25minutes long and the only things I wore l was a watch and trainers. I didn't even carry any clothing with me. Hoping to do it again soon!

Be careful, although it is not illegal to be naked in a public place, if you do not carry anything with you to be able to cover up you will not be able to use the defence that you had no intention of being seen and causing alarm or distress if someone tries to prosecute under the sexual offences act. The latest case where this defence was used was a guy driving naked in Nottinghamshire. As he had something in the car with him to cover himself if necessary the judge accepted that he had no intention of being seen or causing alarm or distress. I am not suggesting that you are bound to be safe if you do this either, far better to walk in the countryside where it is more reasonable and more difficult for the police to find you. The police are more likely to turn up very quickly in built up areas. Also if you are arrested you will be photographed, fingerprinted and DNA sampled and probably detained in a cell for several hours. If at some time in the future you want to travel to the states or transit through you cant use the ESTA system unless you are prepared to lie and take a risk. Sorry I am not trying to change your behaviour or your state of dress, its your life and you should do what you want to do. I  just wouldn't want you to find yourself in a difficult situation through ignorance as that is not a defence you can use in a court of law.

Getting arrested for being naked is not going to affect your eligibility for ESTA.  The question they used to have about crimes involving moral turpitude etc.  has been replaced by the following Have you ever been arrested or convicted for a crime that resulted in serious damage to property, or serious harm to another person or government authority?  In any case if you were arrested but not charged I don't see how its any of their business.

I'm new to this site and have occasionally done naked walking in the streets around my home, though only in the wee small hours of the morning! I live in a cul-de-sac and recently woke up at 2.40am and knowing I would be awake for quite a while, went out for a stroll around some local streets.

Didn't see anyone (not surprising I suppose).  The walk was about 25minutes long and the only things I wore l was a watch and trainers. I didn't even carry any clothing with me. Hoping to do it again soon!

I would urge caution doing naked walks in an urban environment, especially close to home!  You may not have noticed seeing anyone, but perhaps someone had seen you? The last thing you want is to be getting a visit from the Police! 

Getting arrested for being naked is not going to affect your eligibility for ESTA.  The question they used to have about crimes involving moral turpitude etc.  has been replaced by the following Have you ever been arrested or convicted for a crime that resulted in serious damage to property, or serious harm to another person or government authority?  In any case if you were arrested but not charged I don't see how its any of their business.

Has this information changed and if so do you know when it changed link to advice
We do not recommend that travelers who have been arrested, even if the arrest did not result in a criminal conviction, have a criminal record,  certain serious communicable illness, have been refused admission into, or have been deported from, the United States, or have previously overstayed under the terms of the Visa Waiver Program, attempt to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program.  The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply to US visa law and spent convictions,regardless of when they occurred will have a bearing on a traveler’s eligibility for admission into the United States.
Can you advise me if my arrest, caution, conviction will prevent me from traveling visa free and registering under ESTA?

We cannot advise whether a traveler’s specific situation will have a bearing on their eligibility to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program.  Our advice is that if you have ever been arrested, cautioned or convicted you apply for a visa.
Also link If you have ever been arrested, cautioned and/or convicted of an offense anywhere in the world, you are required to declare it when applying for a visa.  In cases where an arrest resulted in a conviction, you may be permanently ineligible to receive a visa and will require a waiver ineligibility to travel to the United States.  The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply to United States visa law. Therefore, even if your arrest or conviction is considered spent, you are still require to declare it and furnish an ACRO Police Certificate when applying for a visa. 

I was quoting directly from the ESTA website.  You could say its a bit vague but if you were arrested for being naked in public how would that count as causing serious harm to another person?  Applying for a US visa is something else.  I once applied for US residency (which I never completed) and they asked if I had committed a crime for which I had never been arrested.  Who's going to admit to that?  The get out is that anything you have done is only a potential crme until you are convicted.  So if you were never convicted you never committed a crime.  I think its outrageous that a country that makes such a big deal about innocent until proved guilty worries about whether someone has ever arrested or not.
The links that you have given take a stronger line than you find if you just go to the website for applying for an ESTA.  They not being consistent. 

I do a lot of serious walking up the hills and am always fully equipped for that. I am also very lucky to have a good range of hills on my doorstep. These smaller hills I visit with my dog 3 or 4 times a week, mostly mornings before work. I walk about 20 minutes to a spot that I know from experience very few people frequent and from this point onward I am naked for the next 3 or 4 hours. When I return I get dressed and off I go.

Although I rarely meet anyone (you can usually see them coming from miles away), I always carry a sauna kilt (essentially a towel that is fastened by Velcro) wrapped around a strap on the ruck sack. It just takes seconds to wrap round and no one is offended.

This simple accessory enable you to walk with peace of mind.

Although I rarely meet anyone (you can usually see them coming from miles away), I always carry a sauna kilt (essentially a towel that is fastened by Velcro) wrapped around a strap on the ruck sack. It just takes seconds to wrap round and no one is offended.

This simple accessory enable you to walk with peace of mind.

It certainly sounds like you have found some nice hills to do some naked hill walking. I must try and do some more myself next year!

Definitely having a cover up to hand is a Jolly Good Idea!  If only I had done so, then the following could have had a more pleasant outcome...

A trip report from a walk I did two days ago!

Long Post Alert!!

Well, that was a first for me, getting seen while doing some naked walking around an old ruined stately home (Dunmore Park, near Airth, Scotland)...  Perhaps I had been pushing my luck too much, as I had earlier on in the day did some naked "arty" self portraits at the nearby ruined stable block.

Anyway, here is what happened.....

I had arrived at the ruined house early afternoon following the morning exploring the old ruined stable block.  Certainly a stunning location for urban exploration or photography or decaying buildings. I had a general explore of the location being very mindful of the collapsed staircases leading down to the basement level.  I also explored the old wine cellars since I had packed a head torch.  I think I even saw a hibernating Herald moth inside one of the wine cellars...

Anyway, I guessed that since it was mid week, and no October school holidays, the area should be pretty quiet allowing me to do some naked exploration (albeit wearing my walking boots to protect my feet).

So stashing my photography gear and clothing in a dark corner in one of the furthest away wine cellars I stripped off, and spend a pleasant 10 minutes wandering about the ruins.  Despite it being late October, it was actually quite pleasant in the sunshine 🙂 Quite interesting feeling the difference in temperature inside the pitch black wine cellars.

Having explored the inside of the building, I decided to talk a walk around the outside. I had made my way all the way around, and just as I heading back inside the building, I started to hear a dog barking. And then the sound of voices approaching.  Alas due to the state of the ruin there was no quick way to get back to my clothing, as they were inside one of the wine cellars, in the basement, which was difficult to access due to collapsed stair cases.

The only easy way would be to risk jumping down from the ground floor, or try and avoid being seen by the approaching people and make my way around the outside of the building to get to an easy access to the basement...  I did not have the sense to carry any form of cover up with me, so apart from wearing my boots, and carrying my head torch. Unfortunately in the rush to hide from the approaching people I had literally backed myself into a corner.  Basically the place I chose to hide, meant my only escape options were to go back the way I came, or risk jumping down from the ground floor into the basement floor from a nearby ledge.  The risk being that if I jumped, I could have damaged an ankle or something which would have made an embarrasing situation even worse as then I'd have to have asked the people for help!

So really starting to panic now, I sat on the ledge pondering my options. I heard them getting closer, and then all of a sudden I heard an exclamation of "Oh My God!" from the woman.  She must have entered the building, and saw my naked back and rear sitting on the ledge. 

Again, since I was kind of panicking at the time, I didn't say a thing, or move a muscle, apart from stare intently at the opposite wall.  Perhaps what I should have done was say something like "oh, I'm sorry, I didn't expect there to be anyone" or "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any offence. I'm a naturist"

Anyway after what seems like an age she seemed to turn tail (perhaps she walked away very quickly after the shock of seeing a naked man?)  I then heard them walk away to another part of the ruin.  To make the situation worse, I'm sure I heard them talking to their small child about the ruins! 

Anyway, I heard them move off into another part of the ruin, although I could hear them I could not see where they were.  So I again considered my options.

Would I go back outside the ruin, and risk bumping into them again (and causing them fear and alarm?), or do I just find another way from my current location to somehow carefully lower myself to the basement floor, and thus eventually make my way back to my clothing?

Another foolish decision for the day was to risk lower myself down.  I ended up grazing my left thigh on the stone work, although I didn't feel it at the time, probably due to adrenalin and now starting to feel cold.

Anyway I had made it down to the basement floor, I was still hearing the voices exploring the ruins, so what I did was hide in the darkest corner of another cellar (again I was a bit far from my clothes), and I hid there for what seemed like 10 minutes.  Perhaps this was a bad decision, as if they had seen me do that, perhaps they would assume that I was "up to no good"

Were the voices getting closer? Did I hear the male of the family calling out "Hello? Hello?" as if  he was trying to find me to ask what on earth I was doing? Or was that my imagination going into over drive.  However I did not hear anything mentioned along the lines of "We'd better call the Police" or "Dial 999" No one seemed to be in obvious distress, certainly no crying children, neither did the male or female seem angry. 

After what seemed like an age I eventually heard what I thought was the male saying "we'd better go, and let that guy get back to his clothes". Did that mean they had seen me, and found the clothes? Or had I imagined that? Or perhaps they were trying to "encourage" me out into the open so they could take a photo to forward onto the Police?

Anyway after 5 minutes from hearing that, and not hearing a sound, I quietly crept back to my clothing hidden in the dark depths of the wine cellar, "covering myself" with my hands, and feeling embarrassed all over.....

Feeling very glad to have gotten back to my clothes, I got dressed.  Disguised as a photographer I ended up spending 20 minutes taking general photographs of the ruin. Mainly to try and calm myself down. And also if the couple were still around perhaps they would ask me if I had seen a naked man?

Anyway, during my last 20 minutes or so taking photos of the ruins, I saw a few dog walkers milling about. One chap with two dogs asked me if I knew anything about the ruins as although he lived in the area this was the first time visiting.  I told him a brief history of the stately home, and how there were plans to turn it into luxury accommodation, and how these plans had been abandoned. 

Perhaps he too had seen me naked, and was trying to get information on what I had been up to? He certainly commented on my having my camera and saying that the ruins must be a good place for photography... Anyway, I told him to watch his footing, as there were a lot of open pits where floors and stair cases had collapsed and some of these were hidden by undergrowth. He seemed to go on his way quite happy.

Anyway at this pointed I started heading back towards the car, feeling very despondent about spoiling that families day out exploring the ruin... 

Fingers crossed I won't make an appearance in the local newspaper "Naked Pervert in Ruins" or will get a knock on the front door from the Police wanting to arrest me for public nudity...  Thankfully it was a good 25 minute walk from the car park to the ruins, so no one should have been able to trace me, to my car and thus my identity...

So a bit of an adventure!  If only I had carried a small wrap with me, at least I could have quickly wrapped that around my waist. At leas then I would have looked "decent" if somewhat eccentric "why is that man wearing just a wrap and hiking boots!?" and could have calmly made my way back to my clothes without distressing myself or the family without having to hide away and look like I was up to "mischief".

No doubt I'll laugh about this eventually.....

You seem to have a lot of angst about what happened, and that is understandable. However, a lot of it is based on supposition. I don’t blame you, I’m the same. Chances are it was indeed your imagination going into overdrive. Look on the bright side, you may not have been seen at all, or they decided to leave you alone. I have a favourite summer spot which, while very much out of the way, offers no guarantees that someone won’t walk past. When I have been seen before being able to cover up, I’ve usually been ignored, while a few have said hello or reacted in a way that told me they weren’t bothered. It’s about having the confidence to know you are doing nothing wrong and behave accordingly. If you are relaxed about being naked, others are likely to be as well, and vice versa.

Well I have to say I found your account very amusing, I am not sure if that was the intended effect. It only goes to reinforce my belief that being naked is best confined to areas where it is generally expeted and accepted.