This section is no longer in use, please click on the links below to view news and sport from:
Beware bares in the woods!
May 5 2002
By Lucy Miles, Sunday Mercury
If you go down to the woods this week, you're in for a big surprise.
Because a group of racy ramblers is getting back to nature - by organising naked walks through a Midland forest.
The Central Council for British Naturism, which has 20,000 members, has named on its website the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire as the perfect place to strip off.
A naked ramble is planned for this Wednesday - weather permitting, of course.
The walks are run by a man known only as Dave who has posted details on the council's website.
"As a naturist, I have found great pleasure stripping off and walking along these quieter trails, soaking up the sun, enjoying the cooling breeze all over my body and absorbing the atmosphere around me," he says.
"It is a great feeling to stand silently watching a stag sniffing at the air, trying to detect your presence.
"If you have a genuine interest in exploring this wonderful area as a naturist, I would be happy to guide you through selected parts of the forest where we would be less likely to encounter other forest users who could be disturbed by our natural state."
The group's activities are largely ignored by the local community.
But local councillor Frank Beard told the Sunday Mercury: "There's nothing wrong with rambling but if these people want to strip off I think they should go to the nudist beaches that we have here in Britain.
"I can understand why they want to go to the Forest of Dean. It's a very beautiful place. The nettles, though,can get quite high and there's rather a lot of gorse and bramble around, so I should think that they have to be very careful.
"As long as they don't upset anyone and stay out of sight, they can carry on as far as I'm concerned."
If the nudists, who wear only a rucksack and a pair of hiking boots, do catch sight of clothed ramblers, they scamper off and hide behind the nearest bush.
Dave adds on the website: "I would hate to have reports of crazy nudists running rampant through the forest because the attention that would create would spoil any future nude walking.
"So I will endeavour to ensure that we avoid the more public areas while still retaining what I feel is the right to nude recreation.
"I am a strong believer in promoting nude tolerance. Naturists need to encourage the world to relax its inhibitions and try the naked life.
"If you have never tried it, then how can you be so sure that you wouldn't enjoy it?"
