'Nudism cured my bad body image!' Woman reveals how baring all (and moving to the UK's second oldest naturist community) helped her overcome her demons

Tina Yates, a pensioner from Hertfordshire, struggled with bad body image

Surgery had left her with what she describes as a huge 'disfiguring' scar

Naturist husband Mark suggested a trip to a nudist event to cure it

Amazingly, it worked and Tina is now a committed naturist herself

Now lives at naturist community Spielplatz in Bricket Wood in Hertfordshire

For Tina Yates, a pensioner from Hertfordshire, a single visit to a nudist party with her husband Mark was all it took to convince her to embrace the lifestyle for herself.

'I had a bad body image. I’d had an operation and I’ve got what I think is a huge scar and a disfiguring scar, and Mark took me along to a nature swim,' she remembers.



'And, you know, I don’t notice it anymore. It gives you lots of confidence. You know I am who I am, and you can see my life on my face but you can also see the life on my body.'

Naked ambition: Tina, third from left, says that becoming a nudist has made her feel happier with her physique

Tina is one of a growing number of British people to embrace a nudist - or naturist - lifestyle and now lives in the UK's second biggest naked community, Spielplatz.

Located close to St Albans in the village of Bricket Wood, the 12 acre 'community' was founded in 1929 by Charles Macaskie and his wife Dorothy in a stretch of woodland as a retreat for themselves and their friends.

Among them was Ross Nichols, a Cambridge academic and founder of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, a neo-pagan group, and his friend, Gerald Gardner, the father of modern Wicca who established his first coven at the Bricket Wood site.

While Wicca plays little part in modern life at Spielplatz, nudity and a communal lifestyle most certainly does.

Friendly: Tina and her husband live at Spielplatz, a naturist community located just outside St Albans

'It's basically a normal life,' explains Tina. 'My neighbours are lots of different ages and some were even born here.



'It's just a small community and very much a community where everybody gets to know everyone else.'

So established is the community, even delivery drivers dropping off Ocado or ASOS deliveries have become a regular part of life at Spielplatz.

'Everybody delivers to us,' adds Tina. 'Our deliverymen are usually the same ones so there's never a problem. Quite often we ask them to take their clothes off at the gate!'

For Tina herself, her journey to life at Spielplatz when her husband, a naturist himself, came up with a drastic solution to her body image woes.

Miserable about a huge scar left on her torso following an operation, her husband Mark decided to cheer her up by taking her along to a naturist event.

Amazingly, she agreed to go and says she hasn't looked back since. ' I had had surgery and wasn't confident,' she remembers.

Rural: The beautiful Hertfordshire countryside is home to Spielplatz which appears in a new documentary

Lifestyle: Presenter Darren McMullen goes nude at Spielplatz after meeting Tina and her friends

'I didn't like undressing in front of him or anyone else so we decided to do something about it. In the end, it proved very quick and easy way to cure it and no therapy needed.'

Now the couple call Spielplatz home and regularly go naked, although as Tina points out, being a naturist doesn't necessarily mean being nude all the time.

'Naturists or nudists generally prefer to be without clothes if it's warm enough,' she explains. 'If it's cold, we put clothes on, although I'd still call myself a naturist.

'If a cricketer goes on a gay pride march in London, is he still a cricketer? Of course he is, so it's the same thing for me.'

Unlike more extreme members of the community, Tina also says she puts on clothes when doing things like gardening in order to avoid ending up with scratches in delicate areas.

'I put trousers on if I'm gardening,' she laughs. 'If I'm digging a hole, I'll put my wellies on! If I'm doing a barbie, I'll put an apron on!'

She also laughs off the idea of people becoming aroused in a naturist environment, saying it rarely happens at Spielplatz.

'It [unscheduled arousal] very rarely happens,' she explains. 'Clothes are more erotic. If you're naked, it's not particularly arousing.

'The naked body doesn't seem to be as arousing as one in a bikini or negligee. If someone does get an erection, they're usually very discreet about it. Most people carry a towel to sit on, so they just wrap that round their waist.'

The odd embarrassing moment notwithstanding, Tina says Spielplatz is her little haven and says anyone who thinks naturism is weird should come and give it a try.

'[Critics] can think what they like - for us, this is normal,' she reveals. 'They should come and give it a go or just come and visit to see what it's like.



'It really is a little haven. It's quiet and calm, although we do like the odd party just like anyone else.'

She's also come to accept her body for what it is and says she's happier than ever. '[Naturism] made me realise that I look the same as everyone else - just a different shape,' she explains.

'I'm here [at Spielplatz] because I'm comfortable, happy and right now, this is where I belong.'