I’m not sure where the photo above is located, possibly France, but it strikes me that this is a vista not yet really fully imagined in SL naturism. The long, long sandy beach which naturists use for long, long naked walks. I’ve holidayed at Montalivet, France, where there is such a beach. Vera Playa, Spain, too, where similar walking ‘facilities’ are used day and daily. Indeed, it seems that sometimes a reasonable percentage of a resort’s residents are using the beach at any one time.

It begins shortly after dawn, when single male joggers take to the water’s edge in nothing more than running shoes, and thereafter it becomes busier with groups of people -a man and his wife, two female friends, families, perhaps two couples who’ve gone on holiday together- strolling the full length of the beach. This is never any sort of ready ‘exhibitionist, look at me!’ display either.

The reality of it is that the sun, the proximity of the ocean, the warmth of each, even in early morning lends itself to being out there in the sun and do one of those things we never seem to have time for at home, exercise. It really is one of life’s free pleasures to meander along the water’s edge in possession of nothing more than an apartment key! And if you’re doing that walk alone, your partner still holed up in your apartment or hotel room, you don’t even need to take that with you.

I confess to being a morning walker, or a ‘later in the day’ walker when the crowds are thinning out again, simply because I find that exercise is best enjoyed when the sun isn’t at its full, exhausting height. Additionally, being parents of young children, it makes sense to keep them out of strong sunshine.

There are some locations in SL where you can take a walk, at length, albeit not always beside the sea, and this will form part of a new series of posts in SLN, wherein we try to record some of the best naturist walks in SL…places where you can lose yourself for a while and get away from the hurly-burly. I’ve asked the staff to locate a favourite naturist walk each and report back over the next couple of weeks, and we’ll make it a mini-series where you can retrace our steps or, even better, submit favourite naturist walks of your own around the grid.

Ella