Naturist-Nudist Federation of Catalonia fighting an influx of swimwear-wearing newcomers who ‘make us uncomfortable’ It was on a sun-kissed stretch of beach in Catalonia that Segimon Rovira began to feel self-conscious. For as long as the 56-year-old could remember, the area’s turquoise waters had primarily been frequented by nudists. Now, he was painfully aware of being surrounded by sunbathers – in their swimsuits. “Before, people would arrive at a nude beach and either leave or strip down,” said Rovira. “Now they stay and keep their swimsuit on. But what they don’t realise is that if there ..read more

At Nudefest, the UK’s largest naturist festival, I faced rows of unclothed nooks and visible crannies while discussing my writing. But would having my kit off prove a distraction? ‘So Nell, tell us a bit about how you became a writer …” I look down and see that, despite my legs being crossed, a significant amount of pubic hair is visible to the audience in front of me. I can feel my nipple brush against my wrist as I lean one arm over the back of my chair. The rolls of my stomach are stacked, completely visible to the whole tent, including the man with the microphone. I am in a nightmare. An a ..read more

The local authority in Veere has put up warning signs after a wave of complaints about frisky visitors to the nature reserve A town in the south of the Netherlands has started a campaign to dissuade nudist beach visitors from sex on the beach and in the dunes. On Thursday, Veere municipality put up amended beachside boards warning frisky guests that the dunes are legally off limits, public sex is banned and there is “increased monitoring” to combat “sexual meeting place activities in the dunes, nature reserve and beach ..read more

Frankfurt judges said people would have to lean far out of window to see naked sunbathing in courtyard A German court has said that a landlord sunbathing naked in the courtyard of his building was not a reason for his tenants to reduce their rental payments. The case involved a building in an upmarket residential district of Frankfurt, which included an office floor rented by a human resources company. The company withheld rent because it objected, among other things, to the landlord’s naked sunbathing. In response, the landlord sued ..read more

Judges say policy for communal areas had a distressing effect on those who did not wish to practise them Spain’s supreme court has ruled that a group of naturist property owners at a holiday home development was wrong to insist communal areas could only be used by naked residents, and wrong to hire security guards to police access to the shared swimming pool. The decision came after eight people in the development in the Andalucían province of Almería took legal action, claiming the enforced nudity policy violated their basic rights ..read more

Stuart Haywood made his debut as a naturist at a ‘clothes optional’ day at a country house garden. His parents would not have approved Shortly before his 76th birthday, Stuart Haywood made his debut as a naturist. He was visiting Abbey House gardens in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, with his wife Rhona (who is not a naturist), for a “clothes optional” day. He and Rhona share an interest in horticulture, but being able to walk around the gardens naked added a new dimension to Haywood’s experience. He “felt free and relaxed”. Yet, he says, “at school, I was very bothered about nudity. I wouldn’t have wa ..read more

One of the unexpected results of the pandemic has been the rise of nudism – so much so that British Naturism is experiencing the fastest growth in new members in 100 years It was summer 2021 and Nick Mayhew-Smith pressed into the bosky depths of ancient woodland outside Hastings. When he got to the centre, he undressed and perched on an accommodating mossy log. Slowly, he recalls, nature started to quicken around him. It was like a romantic tableau of a nude in the woods, he says – except the naked human subject was carrying a packet of nuts and a sensible backpack. The pandemic had left the 5 ..read more

A new book details how nudism began as a movement of intellectuals, feminists and artists, only to be suppressed by the state. But our attitudes to nakedness also tell us a lot about ourselves When Annebella Pollen was 17, she left behind her strict Catholic upbringing for the life of a new-age hippy, living in a caravan and frolicking naked among the standing stones of Devon, while earning a living by modelling for life-drawing classes. That early experience, followed by a relationship with a bric-a-brac dealer, shaped her later life as an art historian. “I’m very interested in things that ar ..read more

More than 1,700 people call on officials to preserve character of Costa Natura near Estepona More than 1,700 people have called on officials in Spain to preserve the character of the country’s oldest official nudist beach in a row with a newly-installed bar they say limits the practice of naturism in the area. The Costa Natura beach, a narrow stretch of sandy shore near the southern Spanish town of Estepona, was designated the country’s first nudist beach in 1979 ..read more

British nudists’ group reports exponential growth in participation in online events since pandemic restrictions came into force From naked pub quizzes to nude yoga, meditation and fitness classes – all, naturally, online – social nudity has experienced an “exponential” growth under lockdown, according to the national naturism society. British Naturism runs more than 100 virtual events each month, including a weekly naked pub quiz and GroovX Stix, an improvised drumming class that promises participants will “work up a sweat and beat out the stress” with no clothes on. Related: The naked truth ..read more