'Everyone we meet in our lives came into this world without clothes on'

“If it is a warm day it is a pleasure to do it dressed as nature intended – we did not come into the world with clothes on,” says naturist John Rodgers.

This is a common reason given by naturists when asked: "Why? Why do you enjoy meeting in groups to swim, walk or generally socialise, completely nude?"

“Why not?” says Andrew Welch from British Naturism, a national naturist organisation.

“It is not good for us to be wrapped up in clothes 24/7 – you dry quicker when you go swimming without a costume and you get fresh air and the breeze on your skin.

“It is only modesty and Victorian attitudes that say we have to wear something all the time.”

In Hampshire and the south, there are dozens of clubs, beaches and pools that give people the chance to bear all, with the Avonvale Sun Club in the New Forest recently being thrust into the spotlight after a dispute over planning permission.

But naturist clubs have been around for years in the area offering swimming, walks and even weekend breaks in hotels.

Mr Rodgers, 64, is British Naturism’s regional coordinator for London and South East and said: “One of the things you find at British Naturism is that there is no one thing that appeals to everybody, you get some people who only want to be naked at a club and others who only want to be naked at certain times.

“It is very diverse and the way people take there naturism is very varied.

“The clubs tend to keep a fairly low profile but most of the community know they are there – we think they should be more open.”

Not all naturists are discreet though, with Eastleigh’s Stephen Gough becoming marred in controversy as the UK’s “naked rambler”.

Mr Gough has been repeatedly arrested and even slapped with an ASBO for his frequent hikes in the buff, even walking in and out of court in the nude.

But for many naturists, respecting the fact that other people may not want to see stranger’s genitals on a day-to-day basis is an important part of their clubs.

Mr Rodgers said: “When we go walking we go where walking groups won’t go, and when we start in public we are all dressed.

“The walks are designed to avoid people and we get dressed while going through a village.

“We carry something to cover up with and unless someone comes round the corner on top of us we cover up.”

Perspectives of body image is also something which plays a major role in the clubs as there is no hiding the way you look while walking around totally bare.

Mr Walch said: “We put a lot of effort into body confidence we are all born equal in that sense.

“You cannot imagine a lion worrying about its mane or a lady bird worrying about where its spots are.

“If you are not classically beautiful, whatever that means, you do not need to live in a cardboard box all you life.”

Some clubs also offer the chance for children to take part in naturist events and there is even a youth division in British Naturism.

But like other organisation that involves children, clubs often have protocols in place to protect safety including being accompanied by a parent, having someone on site who is trained in safeguarding and British Naturism also works with the NSPCC.

Mr Welch said: “Children who attend naturist groups grow up with much healthier attitudes about their bodies - when my daughter started to develop she was not nearly as anxious as her friends because she had seen so many breasts she thought mine are going to be fine.”

Although there are several places in Hampshire where naturists can reveal all, the activity is not as popular as elsewhere in the country, such as further west in Dorset and Cornwall.

When asked about resistance to naturists Mr Walch said: “It is difficult for people to separate nudity from sex - people think the whole point of naturism is that everyone goes off into the bushes and everyone gets excited and it is just not like that.

“I think it is a cultural issue, it is a statement of fact everyone we meet in our lives came into this world without clothes on, it is a natural state and anyone who wants to be in that natural state is treated with amusement or suspicion and anything in between.”

Where to bare all in Hampshire

• Quite Naturally Club - an adult group with evening meetings throughout the year in Ringwood.
• Avonvale Sun Club, the New Forests National Park’s only naturist group, based in Highwood Copse, Ringwood.
• Bournemouth & District Outdoor Club based in Matchams near Ringwood.
• Barton Swim - A naturtist group that meets once a month at the Watersplash Leisure Centre in New Milton.
• Southampton Swim - Naked swimming meet ups at the Oaklands Community Pool in Southampton.
• Meon Shore - Beach south of Titchfield over looking the Solent Calshot Beach - the naturist beach is 800 yards to the right of the entrance to the beach.
• Lepe Beach in Exbury, Southampton.
• Park Shore, a beach near Lymington.
• East End Beach east of Lymington over looking the Solent

A brief history of naturism

• 1891 - The earliest known naturist club in the world is formed in British India.
• 1922 - The English Gymnosophist Society is founded for people interested in nude life culture and meets in London.
• 1930 - Around 250 sunbathers, some of them nude, are attacked by a crowd of 200 people in Middlesex.
• 1960 - The first genuine British naturist film called Travelling Light is released.
• 1978 - Hastings Borough Council approves the first naturist beach in the UK.
• 2007 - The Eden Project in Cornwall hosts a naturist evening.
• 2010 - British Naturism is formed as a company limited.