It is ages since I have written up one of my walks, so I thought I should make an effort to share something with my friends here.

Usually on a Sunday Carole and I will walk Taz together (and it is not unusual for him to lead us into a pub for lunch, but that’s another story). Yesterday, however, Carole decided she was not feeling well enough to want to brave the cold so I walked Taz on my own. By the time Carole decided that it was already lunchtime so any chance of an early naked walk, before all the Sunday walkers come out, was long gone. After a little thought, I decided to visit a walk that I don’t use very often, but which has generally been quiet when I have visited it.

I drove to a convenient parking spot close to the A404 (location “P” on the map). Where I changed into walking boots before heading into the woods following the marked route in an anti-clockwise direction. (That’s “counter-clockwise” for those poor souls who live on the wrong side of the Great Herring Pond :D)

The red loop is my track (roughly) and the green dotted lines show official footpaths. As you can see I was not on the footpaths very much, preferring to stay a little off route to give me a higher probability of spotting any intrusive textiles before I was seen. There are many other tracks through the woods, some made by gamekeepers looking after their game birds, others by deer or badgers using regular runs. I tend to follow those when possible.

There was no evidence of anyone around and the leaf litter on the path looked not to have been disturbed by human feet for a day or two, so I stripped off and keeping an eye open Taz and I continued through the woods. In summer these woods can be fairly dark and hard to see through but, in mid-winter there is no leaf cover so more light reaches the forest floor. This meant that I was able to see a fair distance through the trees but could also have been seen from a significant distance; the usual SN double-edged sword.

I stopped at location 1 on the map where a tree stump provided me with an improvised camera support. As I had not taken a proper camera with me I was limited to using the iPhone, at least by using the front camera I was able to see when I was in frame and a small ap allowed me to use a self-timer to get into the shot.

It’s not the best picture (even discounting the content) but without a proper camera it is as good as I could do.

We continued along my planned route, enjoying spotting deer and squirrels in large numbers, all of which added to my confidence that, since no one else had disturbed them recently, I probably had the wood to myself.

I stopped again at location 2 on the map to get a shot of the woods and give you an idea of the terrain. As you can see it is mostly beech and very open. (Even more so since the major tree harvesting operation that took place around a year ago). The picture is looking more or less due north, the lane behind me was plainly in view but, in the time I was walking parallel to it, only two or three cars used it.

Looking back at the previous picture I guess you could already see the nature of the woods fairly well, but I’ve taken the picture and uploaded it to Flickr, so I might as well include it :D.

I turned left where the track I was on joined a vehicle track into the woods. The track has not been used for some time, as evidenced by fallen branches across it, so I was confident that I was not likely to be run down by a gamekeeper.

The sun was coming through the trees, although it was occasionally blocked by cloud, and felt warm on the skin. The air temperature was around 9C (48F) but, with no wind and the sunlight, it felt warmer, even with the slow pace that is now usual with Taz. The walk was more frequently punctuated by the crashing of deer through the undergrowth as I moved north and then west into the quietest corner of the wood. Branches I had placed across the trail last time I was here (a few weeks ago) were still in place, suggesting that no one else had been on my precise route for a while.

Eventually, I was forced back onto a short stretch of official path before I cut left to run parallel to the lane and the main A404 as I crossed an open field. The field is generally left fallow apart from a large patch of maize that is grown to provide cover for game birds but that also provides some useful cover for an SN against unintended observation from the woods at the east side of the field.

Back under the trees I once again found myself amused by the empty space in which I could wander naked while able to see cars racing past on the dual carriageway to my west. Although I could see the cars it would have been very difficult for them to see me through the trees and hedge along the roadside, even though I was less than 100 yards away.

The final picture (location 3 on map) gives an idea of how close the road is. My car was parked just out of shot behind the holly bushes to the left of the picture.

Shortly before returning to the car I put my t-shirt on, in case anyone looked from the main road. This proved to have been a wise decision. I had just changed out of my walking boots and was about to lift Taz into the back of the car when another car drove up the lane and parked next to me. I used my car to screen me from the other driver while putting on my wrap then had a short chat before the other chap set off along the footpath I had started out on.

In total I had been out naked for 77 minutes starting at 14:19 on a Sunday; that really is peak walking time generally and yet I had seen only the chap who drove up at the end. I had not even heard anyone else while I was out. As you can see from the map, the wood is close to Marlow and to High Wycombe, I’d guess at over 250,000 people within five miles. Who needs lots of space for a naked walk? All that is really needed is a bit of careful study to find the right spots.

Have fun,

Ian.

PS The map was lifted from the geocaching website and the yellow smiley faces represent caches I have found. I can confirm that the one just north of the parking spot really is in the middle of the central reservation of the dual carriageway. For some reason, it is called “Road rage danger” 😀 .

PPS: The pictures above are clickable, if your stomach can take a larger version.