After thinking summer was over today turned out to be a wonderful warm sunny day down here.  I had a job in Northampton and

then up in Peterborough so rather too much driving for my liking.  Still, when I was done in Peterborough I made time to stop on

the way back down the A1 to walk in some woods I recently found near Sawtry and get some much needed fresh air.

The thing with these woods (and all the other places I walk) is they are not close enough to any residential areas for people to

walk to them.  This means it's always obvious if there is anyone else walking there because they would have parked their car at

the entrance.

So feeling hot and sticky and in need of shedding clothes I arrived at the woods only to find two cars there. Bummer!  Well not

to be deprived of my walk I drove on a little way and found another pull-in beside the woods where I could park.  I left the car

and walked back to the entrance of the woods and wandered into the trees to see if I could see anyone. Nobody in sight.  Now

these are not hugh woods but there are big enough for a good long walk and are criss-crossed by a network of winding paths

and tracks.

I never strip off to walk when I know there are other people about if I don't know them so I wandered about near the entrance

to wait until the other walkers came back to their cars.  It seems they had only recently arrived because it was some time

before they appeared one after the other, and headed back to their cars.  Cool thinks I - now I have the woods to myself.

And of course another car pulls up and a woman gets out with her dog.  Great!  OK so now I am starting to feel a little frustrated

so as Mrs Textile headed along the path towards me I decided to talk to her.  Now in these circumstances I find saying hello to

the dog first to be a great ice breaker since the dogs usually run up to greet me.  Nice dog - bit dribbly but friendly enough. 

Gets a conversation going anyway.  I talk to the woman about how nice and peaceful the woods are.  She tells me she usually

walks in the evening but it's her son's birthday so today she is walking earlier. So I tell her I have stopped a couple of times on

the way back from Peterborough because I am a naturist and the woods are normally very quiet at that time of the day.  She

says that's great because the woods are lovely to walk in.

Now from previous conversations I've had with walkers I know some folks hear naturalist instead of naturist and probably wonder

why I am asking them if they mind.  It's as well to check they understand!

So I bite the bullet and say 'so do you have any objections if I strip off and stroll through the woods in my skin?'  She says'oh

god no - you do anything you want to'.  Cool eh?  It's not often people are so accepting and unconcerned.  So I said thanks and

carried on walking past her the other direction.

I wanted until she was out of view and stripped.  Clothes in my back pack and shoes hidden behind a tree.  The ground in the

woods is soft enough to make barefoot walking quite pleasant.  I then set off up one  of the main paths into the woods.

Now although she said she was fine with it I still don't wish to embarase anyone so I prefer to avoid contact and planned my

route to go round a different part of the woods - or so I thought.  Like I said before, I have been there a couple of times but the

winding paths make it difficult to know which way you are heading sometimes.  But I felt confident I was on a different route so

I put my bag on my back and walked slowly through the trees munching an apple.  Bliss.  The secret of successful wood-walking

is timeing.  If I arrive and there is nobody there I know how far I can safely walk nude.  If someone arrives a couple of minutes

after I set off I know how far they might get and how long it would take so I know when to be wary.  But at this point I knew I

didn't need to worry.

After about 5 minutes I am making my way down a narrow track in a shady part of the woods still happily munching my apple and

day dreaming.  Round a corner comes a little black and white dog.  And I know who it belongs to - Mrs Textile.  That'll teach me

to stay alert.  It would seem my sense of direction is not as good as I thought.

So apple in one hand and bag on my back there is no way I could avoid her or cover up in the seconds it took for her to appear. 

Normally I would have at least taken my bag off and swung it round in front to cover myself but in this case it wasn't going to

happen.  Well I thought how bad can it be?  She gave her approval so I hope she won't be upset running into me.

Doggy ran up to say hi again and Mrs T simply calls him back and carries on waking towards me.  I just smiled and said I had

thought I was on a different track so sorry for running in to her like that.  She's fine with it and we stop to chat for a minute and

she describes the layout of the woods and where the paths go so I can get to the part I was looking for.  All the time there's me

standing there in my skin and feeling completely relaxed now because she doesn't seem at all phased by the situation.

And feeling even better than before I set off and enjoy another half hour walking in the woods not worrying about meeting Mrs T

again (I didn't) but remaining alert in case anyone else has entered the woods by now.  Not wanting to push my luck I thought it

sensible to get dressed to walk the last part to the entrance.  I passed a young lad with a dog on my way to get my shoes and

when I was almost out of the woods a girl appeared with her two little terriers. Outside the woods was a third car so it looks like

I dressed at the right time. 

So these are woods I think I will visit again and I feel more inclined than ever to speak to people I meet there.  I talk to people

quite often anyway in my wood walks and although most are fine with naturism they usually seem more comfortable with my

suggestion that I try to choose a different route.  Even so, I think asking people is a step in the right direction.  How else are we

to know how people feel about free range naturists?  The trick is getting a conversation started in order that one can introduce

the subject of naturism.  Dog owners like it if you say hello to their dogs - it makes you look like a friendly person and it's a good

way to start a chat.  Another idea - walk barefoot.  Some people might remark on it at which point you explain how nice it feels

and if you thought you had the woods to yourself you might be wearing a lot less - you never know, they might then tell you

just to go ahead and enjoy yourself your way.

The important thing is  ALWAYS to make it 100% clear that you are NOT going to be walking naked if it makes them feel at all

uncomfortable.  Give them the choice of saying yes or no - make sure they really do understand what you are proposing to do. 

The more we ask, the more we might find people are accepting of free-rangers  - we just need to make sure we show real

consideration and build a good reputation.