Last week I was hiking in the Brecon Beacons and found myself on a path parallel to the mountain railway. I heard a noise and looked round and saw a man and woman still a good 100M away approaching on bikes. I stepped sideways into a bush and put my shorts on and carried on down the path, they then passed me with a smirk and a hello.
Some time later down at the lakeside station at which point I was fully clothed they passed again and gave me a friendly wave. I have absolutely no doubt they saw my naked bum as I walked down the track, There friendly reaction has made me more confident of naked walking in the Beacons.

From the stories I hear about naked walkers and their encounters, I get the impression that the majority of the actual public are not that phased. You are bound to get one or two who think negatively, especially if they are with someone. Sometimes I wonder if it is their defence mechanism, to act badly and abusive, as a kind of statement to whoever they are with. eg. "I don't want them thinking I agree with this scenario, otherwise they will think I'm weird".
I wonder if they would act differently if they were on their own. (thinking of Gildo's recent and very rare bad encounter).

While out this evening I was passed by a solo cyclist from behind he didn't acknowledge me and just rode on. Where as yesterday I saw seven cyclists. 2 passed from behind and let me know which side they were passing me quite jovially, two passed me head on one saying " dude you,'ve forgot your clothes " with a giggle. Two more passed head on and just smiled. One solo said nothing as if he'd not seen me at all.
Generally I don't think people are to bothered but your bound to get the odd idiots as in all aspects of life.
The more people I pass the more confident I become,  although gildos  experiance is off putting as I walk the same area as him.8

As you may we have read we had a great day with Gildo walking 3 weeks or so ago. Te one were we were caught up by a group on a sponsored walk. They walked with us for a while until our routes diverged.

We were/are planning to do a similar walk when the heather is out in July/August. It looked as though it would be beautiful and Gildo says it is. We were happy to do this alone (2 of us) but Gildo's experience has made us think. We will probably still do this but perhaps nice if joined by one or two others.

re walking in groups - I always think this is safer, but by group a mean more than two. A single person (especially a male) can be taken as a pervert, or someone who has a problem, a group is a group activity an organised event and because it is a group no issue with perceived threats, especially if it clear you are walkers (boots, bags etc), rather than just someone who has just stripped off to show off his junk (one of the reason I never do the hiding behind a bush).

Problem is naturally - we all like to walk when we like to walk and we are all in different locations doing different things. Some areas (south east) do have a walking group but unless there are enough people in more local areas such a club wouldn't work. The other advantage is, its much simpler to notify the police that a club is going on a walk rather than approaching them as an individual (I know some have without issues), but you do expect to have issues, or told by PC Plod if you do that we will arrest you (or we have been looking for you) and then get into other discussions - aggravation none of us want.

... We will probably still do this but perhaps nice if joined by one or two others.

Hi - I presume you would be walking in the area that David usually does? If so, if you can arrange some good weather then I might join you. As David knows, it is a 5 hour round trip for me, so only worth doing if the weather is good!

Let me know when...

John

Thank you Johnrw. I know you did a very long walk (20 miles?) with David a couple of weeks ago. He took us on a 10 mile and that was enough for me. My younger wife was fine with it!

Lets us see what happens.

I definitely agree on comments  group walks. Did a couple of them at Nudestock, each having 10 to 15 walkers. They suit us but at the same time single walkers should be able to enjoy as well.

I've just returned from a six mile walk in Sherwood Forest.. sightings face to face with a male and female middle aged, past pleasantries and carried on. Single male with dogs, no reaction.
I have walked 5 or 6 miles every day now for the past six weeks in Sherwood and had no adverse reactions. to put it in perspective, I'm sure David will say the same now he's in warmer climes.
I certainly wouldn't let it put me off. I do avoid the touristy bits but that's to avoid bumping into someone I know more than anything, I live in the village and frequent the local pub which is very dog friendly so I'd be bound to see some one I knew at some point and can't be bothered with the guaranteed third degree.

we have had many encounters when walking on Dartmoor. last bank holiday we were walking and met head on a group of about 20 German tourists who were on a hike. they were very friendly and didn't seem to care we were naked. on the rare occasion we do get an adverse reaction we just keep on walking by and don't get into a conversation. strangely the only bad reactions we have had have been from horse riders !

maybe they are just upset because they need all that protective clothing

I have caused a quad bike rider to end up in a ditch during a naked walk. A route in North Wales that I have done a few times. It's a straight line to a small lake and back totalling about 7 miles. I had parked the car, stripped off, and taken just a small bumbag with a hat, drink and camera. I had walking boots on but I decided not to take anything to cover up with as I wasn't about to do anything illegal.  On my way back from the lake, 20 minutes or so from the car, I could see a quad bike and a buggy, like a golf buggy, coming towards me on the same path. I took a deep breath and carried on walking. The buggy was being driven by grandad, who didn't smile or make eye contact, I guess his daughter was in the passenger seat, and in the back were 2 girls perhaps about 8 and 10 years old. I am not sure because I didn't want to stare as we passed. The daughter had a surprised look but was also smiling, seemingly quite amused at the sight of naked man walking towards her. The girls giggled and kept looking. The quad bike, however, had gone off piste and disappeared sideways into a ditch. The teenage boy riding the bike aged about 14 was thankfully okay but he stood next to the bike with his back to me, not wanting to look at me. It seems he was trying to avoid passing me but had completely forgotten that the land either side of the path was not the best. I asked if he was alright and I also asked if he wanted a hand to pull the bike out and without turning around he said he didn't need any help. I resisted the temptation to take a photo of the situation on the grounds that it would not have been very diplomatic and I continued with my walk. Certainly an interesting encounter.

I've just returned from a six mile walk in Sherwood Forest.

I've just got back from Sherwood Forest!
It was the first time I've been, I was fancying a run tonight and having heard lots of people discussing nude walking there decided to go there. I parked up at the visitor centre car park, and after running past the major oak and a bit further into the forest I stripped off and walked for maybe 20 minutes before dressing and jogging back.There were actually more cars in the car park when I returned than when I set off so would probably look for somewhere a bit quieter to do a fully nude walk. I didn't see any others while nude, only when clothed nearer the car park.

The quad bike, however, had gone off piste and disappeared sideways into a ditch. The teenage boy riding the bike aged about 14 was thankfully okay but he stood next to the bike with his back to me, not wanting to look at me. It seems he was trying to avoid passing me but had completely forgotten that the land either side of the path was not the best. I asked if he was alright and I also asked if he wanted a hand to pull the bike out and without turning around he said he didn't need any help.

Funnily enough I was just thinking about the damage caused by prude parents and teaching children to be ashamed and fearful of nudity.  I was thinking more in a psychological scene, but this shows the damage is real!

I have walked naked for a number of years, both with SOC and now Naturist Ramblers as well as on my own. This year, following the Police College advice, Nat Ram have trialed walking naked even when passing other countryside users. It seems to be working. There are areas to avoid of course, roads and houses for two, when cover is appropriate. This seems to be a good start in getting the general public to accept naturism in the countryside as something normal.

I would love to participate in a group walk up here in the Northeast of England but they appear to be a little shy this neck of the woods pardon the pun. I agree the more the public see this as a 'normal' state the more chance they will accept it as being the norm.
Davey