John Simmons, a British banker and his wife, Mary, enjoy going to naturist beaches. It all began when they were holidaying in France ten years ago and visited a long sandy beach near the villa where they were staying at Royan on the Atlantic coast.
When they arrived on it, soon after breakfast, there was no one else in sight. They changed into their swimwear, had a quick swim and then lay down on the sand and dozed.
Other People Arrived
But when they woke and looked around, they saw that other people had arrived - families, groups, couples and a few on their own. To their amazement, all of them were bare!
John and Mary say they were horrified to realise they were on a naturist beach. Quickly they dressed, collected up their belongings and fled. As they did so, they realised they had failed to notice a sign saying "Plage Naturiste", the words that identify naturist beaches.
Sandy Beach in Portugal
The following summer John and Mary went to stay in a villa in Portugal. One day they found a lovely sandy beach on the west coast with hardly anyone on it - a pleasant change from the crowded beaches all along the Algarve coast.
But on arrival John discovered he had forgotten to bring his swimming trunks. As it was a glorious hot sunny day, he was very annoyed.
Young Couple Appeared
As John and Mary discussed whether he should go back to their villa for them, a young couple suddenly appeared from the dunes behind them and walked hand-in-hand down the sand to the sea. Both had nothing on.
After swimming and splashing each other, the young couple emerged from the sea and walked slowly back up the sand. John says they looked so natural that they reminded him of Adam and Eve.
Free and Natural in the Sea
So he decided to go in the sea himself bare. "Immediately I found it a glorious experience", he recalls. "I felt so free and natural – and afterwards it was lovely to lie on the sand and feel the sun all over my body. I told my wife how good I felt and soon persuaded her to take off her bikini and join me.
"Now if we are ever somewhere where we have to put on swimwear, we really hate it. The material feels so damp and clammy - and very unnatural!"
Cap d’Agde Naturist Resort
Since then John and Mary have enjoyed being on naturist beaches in Greece and Spain but their favourite holiday place is the huge Cap d’Agde naturist resort in south-east France.
"We do everything there bare", says John, "from shopping and playing tennis to swimming and sunbathing, though of course we dress in the evenings when it gets cooler.
"Altogether we feel very lucky that chance led us to realise how delightful naturism is".
Gillian Thomas - Having left the BBC's Paris news office to return to England and get married over 20 years ago, I have freelanced as a journalist ever ...
