We are married, with three children - all boys - Alan (07/07/87); Philip (13/12/89) and Ian (22/03/92). We are fairly recent members of the club, and feel that we are not very typical - although everyone probably feels that way!
This page was written by Paul, but no doubt Sue will want to re-write bits when she gets the time...
I was introduced to the sauna when I stayed for three months in Finland. After returning to England, I introduced it to many of my friends, and soon most Saturday evenings were spent enjoying a sauna with those friends - including Sue - at the local leisure centre. As this was a mixed session, people were expected to wear a costume, and for the most part this rule was observed.
After a few years, Saturday evenings started to be occupied with other things, and I began to sauna at other times. During the men-only sessions, I remembered how much more enjoyable the sauna is when you don't wear a damp piece of cloth round your middle. Sue and I still managed to sauna together occasionally on a Saturday night, but this became increasingly rare when the children started to appear.
It became clear that a regular weekly sauna made a significant difference to the state of my skin. I have suffered from eczema since early childhood, and my skin deteriorates when I stop using the sauna. I also find that swimming twice a week provides both exercise and the opportunity to moisturise my skin properly.
The old leisure centre was pulled down, and a new one - the Guildford Spectrum - was built. This had a sauna cabin in each of the fitness area changing rooms, and a mixed steam room and jacuzzi. Once or twice we used the place together, sharing a (costumed) steam room and parting to use the two saunas. It did not work very well for us as an evening out, and usually I went on my own.
So, up to this point, we were both very used to using a sauna - wearing swimming costume in mixed sessions, and wearing nothing in single-sex sessions.
Then I changed jobs, and sometimes had to travel away from the office. The early starts sometimes resulted in missing out on the early morning swims, and when this coincided with failing to get a sauna that week, the effect on my skin was quite marked. Sue also suffered from disturbed nights as a result.
On these journeys, my route home often took me past a small place called Lightwater, where there was - according to adverts in the local paper - a naturist sauna. In fact, it was the only sauna within easy reach on those days.
For some years I had maintained - as an intellectual position - that I could see no point in wearing swimming costumes as long as nobody would be offended by their absence (click here for a brief description of how I reached this conclusion). It seemed, in theory, an eminently reasonable position.
Now I was in a situation where I ought to use a sauna if possible, and the only available sauna was a naturist one. The question was whether to be consistent and apply what I believed, or to chicken out and (literally) suffer the consequences.
It was, of course, completely illogical to avoid using (what I hoped was) a perfectly good sauna just because the people using it would not be wearing any clothes. However, logic, as you will probably appreciate, is not everything, and it was with some apprehension that I turned up at the house late one afternoon, aching from a long drive, and uncomfortable from my irritated skin in the Summer heat.
I discovered, as you would expect, that the people were quite normal and friendly. The sauna was refreshing, and there was a small outdoor pool to cool off and swim around in. Ironically, all the people using the sauna on that first occasion were men, so in practice it was no different from any of the men-only sessions I was used to attending.
On subsequent visits there were often ladies present, but the only difference this made was to improve the quality of the conversations... Non-naturists always find this a bit hard to believe, but it really is true. In my case, it does make very little difference: I am fairly short-sighted, and in the dim and steamy atmosphere of the sauna, I often can't tell whether people are male or female until they speak, so it makes very little difference whether they are wearing a costume or not!
I met various interesting people at Lightwater, one of whom told me about the naturist swim and sauna at Alton on Sunday evenings. One of the drawbacks of using the sauna at Guildford Spectrum is that you can't swim before or after. But in Alton, the sauna is on the side of the pool, and you can use both freely when the sauna is operational. It sounded very attractive - and so it proved to be.
After a few visits to Alton on a Sunday evening, Sue agreed to join me, and we enjoyed our first shared sauna for nearly ten years. Ah, the memories! Alton was also the place where I discovered how much more enjoyable swimming can be when you don't have a piece of fabric wrapped round you.
We were going on holiday to France that Summer, and I was advised that if I wanted to sauna there, we should join British Naturism. We duly joined, although finding and using a sauna through the French naturist association has so far defeated us. However, the offer of discounted Sea France ferry crossings through British Naturism did prove worthwhile. And we discovered BMSSC through the magazine.
We came together to BMSSC three times over a period of about six months, and found (just as at Alton) everyone was very friendly. Our membership application was approved, and from then until we moved to Bristol, I managed to get along every couple of months; and on perhaps one visit in three, we found a babysitter and Sue came with me.
Since moving to Bristol, we have retained an 'honorary membership' in return for maintaining this web site, but I have only managed a couple of visits in 18 months.
We don't think of ourselves as naturists, but can't see the point in wearing a swimming costume in the sauna. Most of our time and energy (apart from looking after the boys!) goes into our Christian interests, but we make a small effort to encourage tolerance of social nudity and a more relaxed attitude to the human body in general.
Since we moved to Bristol, we are now sharing a house. We also have other people wandering around the house at odd hours. Various people have keys, and they sometimes bring friends and guests round without warning. All of which means that we usually wear clothes outside the bedroom these days.
The naturist groups in the area do not seem to have any saunas, which is rather disappointing. Do let us know if you find one! We did manage a naturist sauna at the Leisure Centre in Keynsham once, but the only regular sauna I can get to is in a gym at Cribbs Causeway, where I have to wear a swimming costume. Such is life! We will have to see how things develop in the future.