[KarlMalone]

'Getting nude in the forest has helped my mental health'

You could never accuse me of being a fair-weather naturist. One of the first dates I went on with my now ex-partner was climbing Pen y Fan, a mountain in the Brecon Beacons, on a wet and miserable day. When we reached the top, I asked if he'd mind if I stripped – I’m always respectful of others – and when he said he didn't, the clothes came off.

Even when I’d first told him I was a naturist after we got together, he didn’t react. He’d travelled the world and told me that because he’d seen all sorts of people and situations, it really didn’t faze him. He never made a fuss about it, in fact he was quite blasé. He also told me once that as he suffered from social anxiety, he found it quite helpful that if I was nude in public it meant nobody was taking any notice of him.

As other people reached the summit that day, there were loud, questioning whispers of 'Is she naked?' from some, while others, including a woman we asked to take a picture of us, told me, "Go for it, girl!"