Spielplatz (Trip Report)

[Steggsaurus]

http://www.spielplatzoasis.co.uk/

Please note this is slightly more autobiographical than my last trip report, I hope that is okay?

My first ever visit to a naturist club was in May this year.

It wasn’t my first ever experience of social nudity.  I had hung out at a private residence with a couple of other naturists one time. 

But that hadn’t been a very satisfactory experience and so when i got the opportunity to go to a club i was in no doubt i wanted to take it.

The visit was organised by Laura, the photographer and YBN member who is now a friend of mine but who, at the time, i had never met.  But we had talked online and she invited me, along with others, to visit a club with her, use the facilities and take part in one of the sessions for her photography project on young naturists.

The club in question was Spielplatz, a well-known club near St Albans.  And the day we chose happened to be the hottest day of the year so far. 

Spielplatz is easily accessible by train.  In fact, it was only a couple of hours journey from Derby for me.  Apparently you can change your train at St Albans and travel even closer to the club (there is a railway station within walking distance of Spielplatz), but I had arranged to meet Laura at St Albans station and get a lift with her.

I’d never met Laura before but she was friendly and engaging and we had a good chat in the car about how I came to be involved in naturism, and some of the, um, stranger characters we had both encountered in the naturist world.

Spielplatz is in an area of the country that seems to have no shortage of naturist clubs.  There is another, seperate club immediately adjacent to it, and there used to apparently be a third, although this is residential land instead.  Also, it isn’t far from Five Acres (the club some of you may know as the home of Bianca who made the Diary of a Teenage Nudist film).

When we arrived at the club, i was a little nervous.  Not about the nudity itself – i’ve never been shy about being naked in front of others.  But, having never been to a club before, i wasn’t sure what to expect.

The carpark is a little walk away from the main area of the club.  It’s on club land so you could strip off there and leave your gear in your car, but as Laura had quite a bit of camera stuff (which i wound up carrying!) we decided to go up to the clubhouse and get undressed there.

On the way we went past the pool area and discovered quite a few other young people sunbathing and chatting.  This was my first encounter with the members of YBN, a few of whom had decided given the good weather to make an impromptu outing to Spielplatz.  We said hello and went on up to the clubhouse, where Laura wasted no time in stripping off.  Not wanting to be left out i quickly did the same.

I did make a minor error at this point – Laura asked me to get us some water from the bar, and when i did i was handed two glasses and told to fill them up in the kitchen.  In doing so, i managed to get under the feet of the lady cooking dinner for all the club members (it was a Sunday and i believe they often do a roast dinner for guests) and got a bit of an earbashing.

Anyway aside from that, the day went great.  It was beautiful weather and Laura took her photos and we walked in the club grounds, swam in the outdoor pool, sunbathed and chatted.  I got to talk to some of the other YBNers and resolved to sign up with them next pay-day.  We also got a tour of the club from one of the residents (like a lot of larger naturist clubs, Spielplatz has some permanent chalets owned by individual members) and learned a little more about it.

As evening came round a few of our group wound up in the clubhouse, ostensibly so Laura could do some more photos but also, i think, because we were having too much fun and didn’t want to get dressed and go home.  In the end I had left it as late as possible and ran the risk of missing the last train home, so reluctantly it was time to leave.

All in all, i don’t think i could have picked a better day or a better location for my first naturist club trip.  Spielplatz is a family-oriented club anyway, and because there were a good number of other young people in attendance, it meant i wasn’t the only youth at a club of much older members. 

The facilities are good and modern, there’s an outdoor (heated) pool, a sauna, clubhouse with bar and pool table, volleyball and miniten courts and large grounds with plenty of space to sunbathe, walk and even camp overnight if you wished.  The staff are friendly and welcoming (and full of praise for the young crowd – they made a point of telling us all how much they hoped we would be back again) and the club is in a very nice and peaceful location.

As for this being my first experience of social nudity in a club setting, well, it never felt strange to be naked like that, just very relaxed and comfortable.  At one point, Laura and I were walking along the main lane through the club, chatting, and it suddenly occurred to me that we were both nude.  I hadn’t previously really thought about it and although it was a strange thing to consider, it never felt anything other than natural.