2021.08.10 Gloucestershire Live
For a lot of people, hearing the word 'naturist' brings back memories of comedy sketch characters such as Bubbles DeVere - a hypersexualised, sensationalised version of a naturist who, actually, cannot really be classed as a naturist at all.
The Pines Outdoor Club in Longhope is a long established naturist haunt, frequented by Chippenham couple John and Helen Donson, who even had their Pagan wedding ceremony at the off-the-grid club.
The club is not just a place for people to take their clothes off and lounge around, as many would assume - the clue is actually in the name. Naturism is about respecting and appreciating what surrounds you.
John, 68, said: "We have been to other clubs, we’ve been to Cap d'Agde in the South of France, and we’ve been on a couple of other naturist holidays, but for us, The Pines is home,
"It's not for everybody, simply because there is no running water, there is no electricity, we are in the middle of nowhere.
"It is not a place for the casual person to roll up, take their clothes off, and leave again.
"If you become a club member of The Pines, you are expected to help with the maintenance of the land that we own and I know in today’s modern society that’s not what people want."
Helen, 55, became a naturist back in 2006, although she says she hated clothes as a child, and introduced John in 2011.
However, John was used to sharing communal showers during his time in the military, so the journey to becoming a naturist was not too long for him.
He said: "Having lived and worked around other people in a close community who share the showers, share the toilets, share the bedroom, the barracks, I was used to it.
"Helen took me up to The Pines and it was a beautiful sunny day, so the shirt came off straight away and everybody else was naked and I thought, ‘Might as well’. And that was it.
"I actually felt uncomfortable having clothes on when everyone else around was naked, it seemed the logical thing to do."
During his time at the club, John says he has learnt about tree felling, hedge husbandry, wildflowers, and wildlife.
The eight-acre club, which boasts natural woodland and an old lime quarry, is home to deer, dormice, badgers, rabbits and squirrels.
There are also protected species of orchids at the site, which have to be very carefully considered when taking care of the land.
"That’s why naturist is probably better terminology than nudist - a nudist is a person who takes their clothes off but is not interested in what’s around them," John said.
"For us, there are strict rules on personal hygiene - we take our own chairs and our own towels. If we take our clothes off, we put a towel down on our own chair, to sit on. When we come home, those towels are washed.
"Whereas if you go to some other places, they don’t bother about that- it’s more of a lifestyle than it is a hobby for us."
John and Helen are Pagans, so respecting the natural world is very important to them. The couple even had their handfasting ceremony at The Pines, due to the strong connection to nature the club provides.
John said: "The Pines is probably the best place for us to go and enjoy that religion because we are taking care of the Earth. We are taking care of the trees. We respect water, as we only have rainwater as our water source,
"Journalists were [at the handfasting ceremony], and the story went national.
"I went to work, and a friend of mine rang me and said 'John, you're in The Sun, and I said 'No, I'm not, and he said, 'You're on Page 3' - it's the first we knew about it.
"I think that was a bit of sensationalism: 'Couple get married in the nude’.
"The fact we were naked is irrelevant, it’s the fact we had a Pagan wedding - that’s what we wanted."
The vast majority of John and Helen's friends, family members and colleagues know of their lifestyle, but they have been met with plenty of misconceptions along the way.
Some people have also attempted joining the club with sexual motives, which is not what naturism is about - it is a lifestyle, not a sexual fetish.
John said: "We have had, and we will always have, people trying to join for that reason. We have to vet who joins and we have had some people who have got through the net but haven’t lasted very long, because we’ve spotted the signs.
"I think from a male perspective, some guys will go, ‘Yeah, you’re only there to look at the other women’ - and that typical stereotype that everyone tries to put a male naturist in.
"No, I’m not, and by the time you’ve explained it to them, you can see them glossing over because they’re not interested.
"A lot of my friends go ‘Really? I haven’t got the body for it’ - the body doesn’t matter.
"Everybody's body is different. I’m happy with the body I’ve got, it’s not the best in the world, and I’ve given it some abuse over the years being in the military but it’s what I live with.
"If I can look in the mirror every morning and go ‘I’m coming on 69, I’m not bad for a 69-year-old', then I’m happy."
