ARRIVING at the residential community of Spielplatz, which is conveniently located a mile off the M25, not far from St Albans in Hertfordshire, I am greeted by Andrew Welch, a 60-year-old marketing consultant.
He is wearing sandals and carrying his phone.
Other than that, he is stark naked.
I pretend not to notice the elephant in the room and we shake hands.
Andrew is one of about 50 people who call Spielplatz – for ‘playground’ – home. It is the only residential naturist community in the UK.
The inhabitants are, he says, all perfectly normal – they just happen to prefer living their lives without clothes on.
They include a female teacher, a retired BT engineer, a town planner and a mechanic.
Until recently, I’m told by one resident, a vicar lived here, with the full blessing of his superiors.
seems to be having a moment in the UK.
One recent survey found that 14 per cent of Brits describe themselves as naturists or nudists – that’s around 6.75million people, a huge increase on previous estimates.
In 2001, the figure was a lowly two per cent.
At Spielplatz, 33 attractive wooden bungalows – all of a similar size – are dotted around the 12-acre estate, as well as a number of .
“Ask why people do it [naturism] and you’ll get 100 different answers,”;; says Andrew.
“For me, it’s about the freedom.”;;
Andrew shows me around, past a house with a sign saying ‘Get Naked’ next to the front door and a car with a personalised number plate, which is a corruption of the word ‘naked’.
The grounds are a brightly coloured oasis of wild and cultivated flowers, shady spaces, an immaculate lawn and a heated pool.
There’s a 1970s Scandinavian vibe and a strange sense of having gone back in time.
I’m half expecting a naked to pop out from behind a bush.
On the day of my (fully-clothed) visit, it is hot and sunny and five or six men and women are relaxing on the lawn.
A few others are by the pool, while a couple are seated at the bar, having a drink.
Everyone is completely naked.
‘Invisible’
It’s strange, but after five minutes I’ve grown used to the nudity and have a mounting sense of being conspicuous in my clothes.
The nudity has become “invisible”;;, as Andrew said it would.
Well, up to a point.
In the clubhouse, which has a pool table, there is inevitably something a little Carry On-like about seeing a naked man seated at the bar and another naked man serving behind it.
Social events are held here throughout the year. If it’s cold outside, residents might start off the evening dressed, then unpeel their clothes, as the mood takes them.
There’s nothing like coming here after work and getting your kit off. It’s a total leveller
Vicki Keeble
In the clubhouse is Joanne Hudson, a 59-year-old mum-of-two who used to own a bridal shop in .
“I moved here in 2020,”;; she says. “I live by myself and I love it.
“It’s so easy and friendly and comfortable here.
“I’ve had recently and the people here have been amazing.
“I tell everybody where I live. Some people get it, some don’t.”;;
Joining her is Vicki Keeble, a 50-year-old mum-of-two, who runs a farm 20 minutes up the road.
She sold a caravan she used to keep at Spielplatz three years ago, but still visits regularly.
“Once I’ve done my work up the farm, I whizz up here,”;; she says.
“There’s nothing like coming here after work and getting your kit off. It’s a total leveller.”;;
Some Spielplatz residents are perfectly open with colleagues and family about where they live. Others, however, prefer to live here on the quiet.
To many outsiders, there are suspicions that naturism is all about sex.
But the residents say it absolutely isn’t.
“We’ve had a few people turn up and ask: ‘What time does the orgy start?’,”;; says Alan, a 76-year-old retired BT engineer who declines to give his surname.
“But it’s not about sex. The image is different from the reality.”;;
The residents say they are sometimes asked what happens if someone gets “excited”;; in public. It never happens, they say.
Joanne says Spielplatz, which allows guests, is occasionally visited by people with the “wrong idea”;;.
We’ve had a few people turn up and ask: ‘What time does the orgy start? But it’s not about sex. The image is different from the reality
Alan
“If that happens, which is rare, the guys [other residents] are really good at dealing with it and will get them out,”;; she says.
Andrew Welch, who lives in a bright, airy bungalow, says naturists have found “an elixir of life”;;.
“A lot of people here don’t look their age,”;; he says.
“It’s a healthy way of life. We’re outdoors when it’s sunny, we’re getting Vitamin D on our bodies. We swim.
“Body issues fly out of the window.”;;
While you don’t have to be naked all the time at Spielplatz – the British would make that a form of madness in – it is mandatory to swim naked in the heated pool.
Heather Warren, a 58-year-old carer, lives with her husband, Neil, a 68-year-old catering engineer.
When they wed in 2020, they had their blessed at Spielplatz by a Church of naturist vicar who was living there at the time.
“It was February and cold, so we wore clothes for the blessing,”;; says Heather.
“The vicar who did the blessing lived here for about four years. His bosses knew all about his living situation.
“My daughter’s OK about it, but she’s a prude, so she only visits in winter when we’re dressed.”;;
Agueda Urdanibia, 53, is also sunning herself by the pool. She’s been a naturist since her twenties and is visiting for the day.
“It’s non-judgmental and it’s nothing ,”;; she says.
“It’s just getting down to the basics. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living, or how much you’ve got.”;;
Occasionally, though, there is trouble in paradise.
“We’re just like any other street and there are neighbour disputes,”;; says Alan, the retired BT engineer.
“There’ll be a row about a hedge, or something like that. We’re a close knit community, so inevitably there are tensions sometimes.”;;
There are currently six houses for sale at Spielplatz – an unusually high number.
‘Hiding behind clothes’
One resident has gone into care, others have moved away.
Prices vary, but to buy a wooden bungalow with kitchen, living room and one or two bedrooms, will set you back around £250,000.
It’s such a lovely spot that the naturists here fear the might attract the wrong sort of people – unsociable types who wear clothes.
I meet Beverly Kelly, a youthful 70, who is the granddaughter of Charles Macaskie and his wife Dorothy, who founded Spielplatz in 1929.
Beverly grew up here and now runs the site with her brother Grant.
As well as attending to the needs of the full-time residents, there are a number of caravans on site which can be lived in for six months of the year, and chalets where people can stay for nine months of the year.
She’s wearing clothes today because she’s got to do and says it’s more practical.
Beverly says it is quite common for people not to tell their families they’ve come to Spielplatz.
There was one especially unfortunate case, she says, when a man from visited, but died on his first night.
“His family didn’t know and later came here to see where he’d died,”;; she says.
Beverly has known other visitors who resort to tricks to hide where they’ve been.
“When I was growing up, a girl of around 16 or 17 used to visit,”;; she recalls.
“Before she left, she would dip her swimsuit in the pool so it looked as though she’d worn it in the pool.”;;
Beverly says Spielplatz gets the occasional visitor who behaves mysteriously, as though they’ve come here to escape from the wider world.
Nudity is not a big deal. What’s important is the person inside the body
Tom Dryer-Beers
She says: “There was a man who had no bank account and insisted on paying his rent in cash each month. I don’t know what that was about.”;;
Tom Dryer-Beers, 69, lives at Spielplatz with his wife, who has chosen not to be identified. He looks after the pool and grounds.
“My wife and I moved here in 2017,”;; he says.
“Nudity is not a big deal. What’s important is the person inside the body.
“I wish everywhere was like Spielplatz. I like the fact I wake up to birdsong and flowers and trees.
“People are much more visible when they’re not hiding behind clothes.”;;
