Does this mean that we\'re behind the rest of Europe or more advanced? Were britain\'s beaches ever like those of Spain?
It\'s difficult to say, really. Perhaps it just means that Cornwall is behind the rest of Europe! :grin:
I probably don\'t know enough to make a reasoned judgement, but I\'d say that you could probably draw different conclusions based on where you went in the UK and on what day you went there. In my experience, if we\'re behind now than we\'re definitely catching up. I certainly think that attitudes towards nudity are becoming more relaxed and you do see more women topless in the UK these days, on non C/O beaches. Granted, it\'s still rare, but I\'ve never really seen it all before this summer.
It needs someone to take a lead though, really. If one person does it, many more will follow. Many people still need to feel that they won\'t be \"unusual\" by doing such a thing - I mean, how many women do you know who would happily take their top off on holiday in Europe, but tell you that \"I couldn\'t possibly do that here!\". When asked why, the response is usually a blank face!
As far as young kinds going naked - that\'s always happened around here. I am talking about very young kids though - I think that parents start covering them up at a much younger age than is the case in Europe. I suppose there\'s a lot of paranoia as regards paedophiles, etc.
And as far as the people count and the demographic goes - well, I don\'t think Cornwall benefits from naturist beaches being widely known. As far as I know, there are no official ones and the ones on which nudity is \"tolerated\" are probably not so well known. I\'m also aware of there being some problems with people having been harassed by the authorities in Cornwall recently, so that may have had something to do with it.
It depends on the day too though. Hot, sunny weekends and bank hols tend to bring out the families. I plan to head to the beach tomorrow if the weather\'s good - and I bet it\'ll be packed with them if it is.
