Clothing is Optional   The UK for CO visitors No-one (surely?) would consider coming to the UK just for a naturist vacation, but there are plenty of other reasons why this country is one of the premier tourist destinations of the world. If you are coming for a holiday or a business trip anyway, here are some tips for travellers and some information and links for naturists/nudists. This is written from the point of view of someone who currently lives in England, but has travelled extensively and knows that having some information in advance can make life a lot easier and more fun when you are on the road. If you have visited or intend to visit the UK, or if you are a naturist/nudist in the UK, I shall be glad to hear from you with any suggestions for information that may make this page more useful. Although I try to make sure that all the information here is correct, please be aware that this is a very personal view. You may have different preferences from me, and also information and links can go out of date. I don't accept any responsibility for the consequences to anyone for the use of this information. General information Some geography and politics When to come (including that bugbear, the climate) How to get here How to get around Where to go Reading Naturist/CO information When to come Where to go, and the legal aspects Some other tips Local CO links

General information Some geography and politics Politically, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland comprises the main island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and a large number of smaller islands dotted around the coasts. Great Britain takes its name from being larger than the "other" Britain, which is Brittany, in France. The Channel Islands, adjacent to the French coast, and the Isle of Man, in the Irish Sea, are self-governing territories under the Crown and are not part of the UK (nor of the European Union). The UK is a single country, as far as the outside world is concerned, but it contains three countries: England, Wales and Scotland, and the province of Northern Ireland. The UK has a constitutional monarch but government is by Parliamentary democracy, where the administration is formed by the party that commands a majority of the seats in Parliament.The lifetime of a Parliament is five years. The Labour Party, under Tony Blair, formed a new government in May 1997 after 18 years of Conservative government. The area of the country is about 245,000 sq km (with about 12,500 km of very indented coastline). This makes it roughly 1/38 the size of the USA, about the size of the state of Oregon. Don't imagine that everywhere is a day trip from London. The island of Great Britain is the fourteenth largest island in the world and is about 1200 km (700 miles) long.  A map of the UK  When to come (including that bugbear, the climate) The UK has a temperate maritime climate. That means it never gets very hot or cold: temperatures above about 27 deg C (80 deg F) are rare, and so are extended periods below freezing. The west is generally wetter, the east is dryer and gets somewhat greater extremes of temperature. The south of England gets the warmest summers while the northwest of Scotland is prone to strong gales in the winter.Over half the days of the year tend to be overcast, with more of them in the winter. The winter feels damp! The best chance of good weather is between April and October, with the warmest months in July and August. But at any time of the year, you make the most of the good weather when you get it. Remember the days are long in the summer and short in the winter. In southern England, daylight in June is from about 4 am to 10 pm, in December from about 8 am to 4 pm. In Scotland, daylight is even longer in summer (it does not get completely dark) and shorter in winter. Daylight saving time (British Summer Time) applies in the summer, GMT at other times. Most tourist attractions are open in the period between Easter and September or October, but there is usually plenty to see and do most of the year round. Outside the big cities, you may find most museums and galleries closed from Christmas to the New Year. Almost everything, including public transport, closes on Christmas Day. Many shops are now open on Sundays. How to get here There are many flights per day into the main London airports, including Hellhole... erm, I mean Heathrow, the busiest international airport in the world. However, if you are not heading for London, ask if you can take a direct flight into one of the regional airports, for example, Manchester, the main airport after London. If you need to use a hub, Amsterdam has flights to almost every UK airport and has only one terminal. Car ferries and hovercraft connect the UK to ports on the continent and in Ireland, and trains through the Channel Tunnel carry both cars (Calais to Dover) and foot passengers (from Paris or Brussels to London and some other UK destinations). How to get around Car rental and fuel will seem expensive if you are coming from the US, cheaper or comparable (depending on the exchange rate) if you are coming from most other places. Remember to drive on the left: danger points are turning out into traffic, turning right and meeting oncoming traffic on narrow roads. However, you soon get used to it because you are usually following other traffic. Also, remember that the white lines are in the middle of the road and yellow lines at the edge: the yellow lines indicate parking restrictions, so check the signs! The overall speed limit is 70 miles per hour (120 km per hour) on dual carriageways (divided highways), 60 miles per hour on other open roads, 30 miles per hour in urban areas. Public transport in the UK is deregulated (outside London) and is generally not as good as in Continental cities. It tends to be rather run-down and unreliable. However, the train service still remains the best way to get between major cities. Because of the relatively short distances between cities, because train stations are in city centres, unlike airports, and because there is no check-in, the train may often be better than an internal flight. The train journey from London to Edinburgh is about 4.5 hours. There are also cheap express buses (coaches) between towns and cities. Where to go London is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, with a lively night-life. It has a noted arts scene, particularly theatre, and numerous museums, art galleries and other attractions. It is also one of the ugliest, most polluted and most expensive big cities in the world, and the locals are justly notorious for their rudeness. However, London is not the UK, and most of the population lives outside London. There are other large conurbations with their own interest, there are many smaller historic towns and villages, there is countryside that looks amazingly green to visitors from dryer parts of the world, and there is spectacular scenery where sheep outnumber people many times over. Many people just stay in London, and take a few day trips from the capital: a couple of hours in Oxford, a couple of hours in Shakespeare's Stratford and a quick souvenir stop in Broadway in the Cotswolds is a typical trip. Why not consider something different? Here are three suggestions: The ancient kingdom of Northumbria, from York to Edinburgh. With the scholars Bede and Alcuin, this was one of the cradles of European learning. Durham City, viewed from the hill above the station, is to my mind one of the wonders of the world. The Welsh Marches, the border area from Gloucester to Chester, is another area full of history and beauty. (For my vested interest, see this link.) The Scottish Highlands, one of the wildest and most unspoiled parts of Europe. Reading The Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit to Great Britain Naturist/CO information When to come The chance of a warm sunny day increases to a maximum around July, but unfortunately July and August are the most popular holiday times for both the British and overseas visitors, leading to congestion in popular holiday places and the routes leading to them (for example, Devon and Cornwall and the Lake District). Many of the popular CO beaches are on the south coast, and the roads there are congested much of the time. If you just like being without clothes the temperature is usually high enough in the daytime from about April/May to October, and if you have a south-facing site sheltered from the wind sunbathing may be possible at other times of the year. There are surprises: there were a few days of almost 20 deg C (68 deg F) in February 1998, and some days in August can be cold. Where to go, and the legal aspects There are naturist clubs and resorts in the UK, and also swimming pools and saunas with nude/CO sessions. For an up-to-date list, see the NUFF site, and also check in the newsgroup uk.rec.naturist. There are also some naturist bed-and-breakfast places and camp sites. Many of these are listed in David Martin's guide, but always check first before you go. The magazine British Naturism also carries the small ads of B&Bs. There are only a few officially-designated nude beaches, but more that are unofficially used by naturists. These are listed in the NUFF site and many more doubtful ones are listed in David Martin's guide. The best weather is likely to be on the south coast. Generally, the further north you go and the further away from towns the more likely you are to find a deserted beach. I have heard that there are many places in the north of Scotland you can skinny-dip with little chance of meeting anyone else, but remember that those areas are deserted partly because the weather is particularly unreliable. (However, when I was in the Highlands in 1995, the temperature was in the 30s day after day, to the great bemusement of visitors!) Because most of the CO beaches are remote, you need a car and, often, some stamina and agility to reach them. The only exception is the official beach at Brighton, but the users there will put off many people, and women may find that beach a most disagreeable experience. Naturism is perfectly legal in the UK, and in general mere nudity is not an offence. Where local councils erect "No nudity" signs, these usually have no legal basis. However, there is a confusing mixture of old and new laws against behaviour that offends others, including the new Sexual Offences Act coming into force in 2004. (Campaigning naturists played an important part in shaping the final form of this law where it was thought it might affect naturists in unofficial places.) It would be a brave man or woman who would state definitely what the law stands for. The problem is that these laws represent minor offences that are tried by lower courts that cannot create precedents, and few if any people have appealed to higher courts. If you take reasonable steps to ensure that you do not offend other people, the worst that is likely to happen to you is that you will be asked by the police to dress. You are, if you are a man, safer if you have a woman with you, and you are safer if the beach has other nudists on it. If you are prosecuted, it will be in a magistrates' court, that is, in front of a panel of lay people with a legally-trained clerk. Ask a solicitor to represent you: CCBN has a legal fund to help in cases like this. I do not know whether you are able to opt for jury trial in any of the cases. Some other tips Many millions of British people travel abroad every year, most of them looking for sunshine. If you get really fed up with the British weather, there are usually many last-minute bargains in the travel agents. Popular sunshine destinations include France, Spain, Florida and Cyprus. The first two have plenty of naturist beaches. In the winter the Canary Islands are your best bet in Europe. Local CO links The newsgroup for discussing CO matters in the UK: uk.rec.naturist. Very comprehensive UK Naturist Information British Naturism: the CCBN is usually regarded as the main body for naturists in the UK. Although essentially it represents clubs, it has in recent years become more aware of individual naturists. The magazine has become a lot more interesting over the last few years. Coast and Country: David Martin publishes the Naturist Guide to Great Britain, amongst other things: it is an invaluable resource, but check before you go. Naturist Life: a UK naturist magazine.

Updated 7 February 2004 Copyright © 1998-2004 Richard Burnham