Clothing Optional at the Abbey House Gardens – 2012
Abbey House Gardens in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, the home of the Naked Gardeners Ian & Barbara Pollard, has clothes-optional days each summer. In 2012 the dates are:
Sunday 27th May 2012
Sunday 17th June 2012
Sunday 15th July 2012
Sunday 12th August 2012
Sunday 2nd September 2012
The gardens are open between 11.00 and 17.30 . Usual admission costs apply.
Parking is in the Long Stay car park adjacent to the gardens and currently costs 50p for 4 hours
or £1 for all day parking.
For full details, see here.
Church Spa, East Markham, Nottinghamshire
I received some information from the Church Spa in East Markham, near Newark on Trent in Nottinghamshire. They have a spa with various treatments as well as accommodation (which looks luxurious, with prices to match!).
I decided not to include them in the directory as they are not a naturist establishment, but they may still be of interest as they offer exclusive use of the spa (they don’t say about the accommodation) so the spa might make an enjoyable visit for a group of naturists.
I include their description below. As always, if you want to make a booking you should check that it meets your requirements before you commit yourself, and especially confirm their policy on nudity during your visit.
“A late 19th Century former Methodist Church sympathetically restored into this luxurious and peaceful Spa with luxury accommodation. Offering absolute tranquillity within the in-house Spa there is an oasis of exclusive relaxation facilities awaiting guests. You can bathe in privacy, in the exclusive indoor heated swimming pool, use the steam room and therapy hot tub. Take advantage of the Spa’s treatment room.”
Website: www.churchspa.co.uk. Tel: 01777 871811
Naturist accommodation in Peñiscola, Spain
John writes:
Situated in the coastal holiday resort of Peñiscola, we offer naturist accommodation to couples and singles. This residence is situated right on the seafront and only 5 minutes walk from small, secluded naturist beaches. With the last remaining undeveloped national park, Tierra D’irta, on our other flank, our location offers an ideal setting for nude hiking, ending the walk at the nude beaches.
Guests who like to stay at base can enjoy the sun on the roof top terrace, with a roof top bar, and dine clothes free (as well as breakfast we do lunch and dinner, all home cooked ).
We are naturists of 25 years standing, myself a former BN club treasurer. We offer a genuine service to genuine naturists, whether experienced nudists or first timers.
I started as a naturist when I was at university in Leicester and I went along to an open weekend at Charnwood Acres. After that I was hooked, and when I returned home to Yorkshire I joined Leeds Naturist Group and, being an accountant, I ended up as club treasurer for over 10 years. I was also a member of the Pendale club in West Yorkshire.
As a single guy I definitely didn’t have the typical single guy experience. LNG and Pendale were very welcoming to singles, and appreciated the fact that often it was the week on week money coming in from singles that paid the venue rental. It is this open-minded atmosphere and attitude that I have always tried to adopt here at our naturist venue.
I moved to Spain in 2005 with my partner, and we chose Peñiscola because it really is a picturesque resort, quite unknown in the UK so it’s not all bingo and fish and chips. It was the setting for the film El Cid and it has a Moorish castle set into the coastline, jutting out into the waves. The money from the film helped local families develop the modern part of the town, with its bars, cafes and restaurants. (In 2011 Peñiscola actually got its first gay bar! It is not, as a guest surmised, two Spanish guys and a Kylie record!).
We decided to offer naturist accommodation, as we went nude 24/7, and it made sense to offer the spare rooms to other nudists. We opened to couples and singles, male or female, gay, bi or straight.
I like the fact that we charge normal bed and breakfast rates – we don’t overcharge just to exploit guests wanting to be nude. We are naked too (and believe me that is not always a given at other naturist venues), and we often take guests into the resort and they feel part of our family… important if holidaying alone. We don’t just leave guests to get on with it, and feel like loners.
See the website: http://peniscolanaturista.vpweb.co.uk
Do you want to post an article in this blog?
Do you want to post an article on the Clothes Are Optional blog? This may be an opportunity to inform naturists about your accommodation, or recommend a place where you have really enjoyed staying.
We welcome articles related to naturist accommodation in the UK or abroad, or about naturist places and events and other news or topics of interest to naturists.
When appropriate, links to the articles will be created in Overseas Accommodation, Naturist Links or the UK directory. If you don’t have your own web site, the article will do instead.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t think you can write – just provide the information and we can edit it into an article! Please note that all articles are subject to editing and we reserve the right to refuse to publish.
Articles should be more than just advertisements. For example, an article on particular accommodation might be written from the point of view of the guest’s experience there, the owner’s experience of running the accommodation or how they came to live there in the first place, interesting things about the locality, local events or things to do or see, or some personal experience or insight that would be interesting to readers.
Pictures are welcome. They should be relevant (pictures of the accommodation, for example) and reasonable quality. Having people in the picture makes it more visually interesting – the people do not have to be recognisable. The total size of files attached to emails to the naco email address should be less than 500 kb or they will not be received successfully. (If necessary, we can give you another address.)
Please be factual – falsehoods and malice are against defamation law and will have to be rejected. Equally, avoid ‘hype’: promising too high leads to disappointment. We want people to find accommodation, places and experiences that are just right for them!
London social meeting with Naturist Action Group
Note from NACO: I don’t think this is a naturist event, but NAG is pushing for naturist facilities in London, so if you live in London do go along!
You are cordially invited by NAG to a gathering of like-minded people on the 21st November 2011. This will be from 5.00pm at McGlynn’s Freehouse.
McGlynn’s is a pub located on the corner of Whidborne Street and Argyll Street, WC1H 8ET, close to Kings Cross and St Pancras Stations.
Come and meet other naturists, and NAG supporters, who live or work in London socially. Members of the Management Board for the Naturist Action Group will also be there, and happy to answer your questions about our aims for NAG and the projects we have initiated to advance naturism in the UK, including The London Question.
Food is available from the public house’s kitchen from 5:30pm and the menu can be found at www.mcglynnsfreehouse.com/menu.html.
We look forward to seeing you there and an RSVP to the chairman would be appreciated.
How to get there:
We do not recommend that you come by car, especially if you intend to sample any of the alcoholic beverages.
Several underground lines go to Kings Cross/St Pancras: Victoria, Northern, Piccadilly, Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City Lines.
On leaving the station cross Euston Road (A501) by either the lights at the junction with St Pancras Road (the road between the two stations) or the pedestrian subway, and head towards Argyll Street, which should be almost opposite. Walk down Argyll Street and Whidborne Street will appear from the right, at the end of Argyll Primary School, while Argyll Street continues off towards the left.
From Euston Station, walk along Euston Road towards St Pancras Station, then follow the above instructions.
A number of bus routes pass along the Euston Road to King Cross Station, or close by it, and we suggest that the journey planner at www.tfl.gov.uk/ is checked for your right route.
Naturist guest house in NE London opening in November
Stan and Jan at Eden Garden write:
The work on our new venture is almost completed and we are now taking bookings for dates from late November onwards for our guest house accommodation.
As promised – Special Offer to those that have already enquired
Book in the next 14 days for a stay in December (excluding Christmas and New Year), to receive a discount of 15% off our published prices if you book one room. If you book two rooms we will give you a discount of 33% off of both rooms. Please mention it when you book.
Photo Shoot – 29th October
At the moment, we have two couples and two single males that have offered to take part in a photoshoot on 29th October. We could do with at least one more female or couple, so if you think you may be interested, please take a look at our temporary photos on our website. We will be attempting to re-create the look and feel of the “stock” photos that we have used but naturally with our own facilities. To encourage you to take part we will be supplying food and drink plus the chance to try out our sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and massage chairs. If you have a reasonable distance to travel, we will be able to put you up (no charge) in one of our bedrooms on Friday night to make the journey worthwhile. Both rooms are booked for Saturday. First come, first served – so get in quick.
Free Draw
Congratulations to the lucky winners of our Free Draw. They are Martin & Cathy from NW London and their number which matched the bonus ball was 45. They will be staying with us soon.
Finally,
After our many, many months of working on this project, we shall be taking a well deserved three day break in Amsterdam with some friends. We will NOT be taking a computer or accessing the hotel computer, so we will be out of contact from late Saturday (22nd) until the evening of Tuesday (25th). Incidently, while we are there we will be seeing Janis Ian in concert. If you are familiar with her music, a big “high-five” to you.
Hope to see you soon,
Stan and Jan
eden.garden@tiscali.co.uk
Finca Ninfas del Agua, Catalonia, Spain
Andi and Sue write:
We recently returned from a week in sunny Spain and whilst there we stayed at a villa owned (and shared) by a retired expatriate couple from Kent. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would like to post a small article as way of a thank you to the lovely couple in question.
Tony and Christine are a naturist couple in their 60′s who retired to a beautiful part of Catalonia 6 years ago and haven’t looked back since. The move has also given many fellow naturists an opportunity to sample the delights of this very unspoilt area of Spain.
The Villa is situated just outside the village of Els Reguers (halfway between Barcelona and Valencia) within the Els Ports Natural Park, which is an area of outstanding beauty approximately 20 miles from the coast.
From our arrival to the minute we left, Tony and Christine were warm, hospitable and informative, keen to share their much valued knowledge of the sights and sounds of Catalonia (including the best naturist beaches of course!). The villa itself is very traditional in its layout and affords a spacious and clean base to work from. It is advertised as a 6 berth, but they do (unusually) offer discount for smaller parties, which made our stay very affordable as we were here just as a couple.
There are a living room, fully fitted kitchen, bathroom with bath and shower, and 2 large bedrooms; the master bedroom has its own door on to the private balcony complete with BBQ etc. Outside there is a small but much appreciated swimming pool and there are extensive gardens which include fruits and vegetables too numerous to mention, all there for you to pick fresh as and when you want them (and free of charge!).
Away from the Villa there are so many things to do and see that I couldn’t even begin to do the area justice here. The most notable for us were Mont Caro which at over 4,500 ft is well worth the precarious drive to the summit just for the views and opportunity to feed the wild ibex as well as seeing the numerous vultures in ther natural environment. Then there is a day out in Tarragona which has the best preserved Roman remains outside of Rome itself, and also a lovely sandy beach which although is textile does allow topless sunbathing and swimmimg. And whatever you do, don’t forget to get directions from Tony for his favorite naturist beach which is approximately 1 mile wide and very clean and unspoilt. There is a lifeguard about a third of the way along and directly behind the lifeguard station you will find a well-stocked bar/cafe.
Thank you Tony and Christine, we will be back!
For further details contact Tony and Christine at: fincatony@gmail.com Web site: http://fincaninfas.org/
Warwick the naturist dines with guests on TV
The truth about “reality TV” is that it is anything but real. It aims to make situations look funny or spectacular, even when they aren’t, and will frequently be edited to humiliate the victims for your viewing pleasure.
Not that I’d want to stop you watching it, or anything.
Here’s a new series from the makers of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. According to their publicity, “A Very British Party follows the great British public as they put the Lambrusco on ice, prepare to let their hair down and celebrate the landmark moments of their lives in most unusual ways. From a strictly-no-clothes nudist dinner party; the birthday bash of drag queens Amber and Bella; a budget burlesque blowout and a city analyst’s £20,000 party for 350 dogs.”
Most of these things seem odd, extravagant or ostentatious to me, but dining nude with friends does not. Some of our naturist accommodation hosts offer dining as part of the service. I have done it on many occasions, and it just seems, well, natural, and certainly the most comfortable way to dine, especially as one’s waist expands.
Putting on uncomfortable suits to eat – now, that really is eccentric.
The naturist dinner host is a guy called Warwick. They don’t say which day he will be on. The series starts on Tuesday 25th October on Watch (Sky 109, Virgin 124).
By the way, you might have seen me dining at a naturist b&b on Channel 5 around 10 years ago.
Naturist swims in Nottinghamshire
Nude swims open to all in Nottinghamshire.
South Forest, Edwinstowe. 6.30 – 7.30.
1st and 3rd Saturdays every months.
Main pool, kids pool, sauna, jaquzzi.
Male, female, couples, familes, bi, gay, straight welcomed.
Water Meadows, Mansfield. 7.00 – 10.00.
22nd October and 26th November.
Competition pool, fun pool, kids pool, slides, cafe, 2 x saunas,
steam, jaquzzi.
Male, female, couples, families, bi, gay, straight welcomed.
£1 life time membership required, then swim payment only after that.
Email: homework007@virginmedia.com
