Beaches South East England Browndown Point (Stokes Bay) - Lee-On-Solent | Browndown Point (Stokes Bay) - Lee-On-Solent |
|
|
|
General
Getting There The "Solent Way" designated footpath runs along the beach between Lee on solent and Gosport, affording access on foot. By car - the B3385 leads straight from Fareham Station to the middle of Lee on Solent (Newgate Lane/Broom Way) "By car, leave the M27 at Junction 11 and follow the signs for Gosport and the A32. After a couple of miles you will approach a double roundabout. At the first roundabout be in the left hand lane to go straight over (1st exit) and then move over the right hand lane to turn right (3rd exit) following the signs for HMS SULTAN. Stay on this road, Military Road (you will pass HMS SULTAN on this road), until the next roundabout. Here go straight over (2nd exit) and again follow the road until another roundabout. Again go straight over (1st exit this time) and you will see the sea .The road sweeps round to the left and on the crown of the bend there is a turn off into a car park; park here." "You will notice a wire fence that leads down to the sea. Follow this and at the end, or through one of the many holes, turn right (if facing the sea) and start to walk away from the car park. The beach is made up of pebbles so walking can be difficult and there is definitely no access for wheelchairs. On your left you will walk past the rear of Browndown TA Camp. Keep walking until you can see a large concrete mushroom affair which marks the eastern limit of the nudist section. The western limit is marked by l high (50 feet or so) embankment." Description Facilities Water Quality Trip Report: August 2004 "Thanks for the info on UK naturist beaches. I had a few hours to kill in Lee-on-Solent today so I visited this beach. From Lee-on-Solent centre it was about 30 mins brisk walk. After about 10 mins I passed the Elsmore car park. This is the last car park at the end of the Lee-on-Solent seafront before the road bends away from the beach. Just beyond that is the start of Browndown range, with the largest collection of warning signs I can remember seeing (about suspicious objects, fire risk, firing when red flags show, and vipers in hot weather). 20 mins from there I passed the second of two large shingle embankments and a little further along I saw the concrete mushroom. I stopped for about 2 hours, during which time only one other person passed (he didn't seem embarrased by my nudity). I went for a swim and the water seemed OK although there was a slight current along the beach (presumably the Solent tide). Viewed from the air, the two embankments are midway between the Elsmore car park and the one to which your previous report gives directions, so the naturist section would be closer to that car park than Elsmore." Trip Report: August 2004 "My wife and I experienced naturism for the first time at this beach in August 2004, after reading the positive trip report in the NUFF beaches list. It was perfect for a first time. After walking from the main car park for approx. 15 mins we reached the naturist section. The beach was rather empty with only one or two couples and a few older males. We felt quite at ease as the naturist section was a good distance from the main 'textile' beach and as a result there were very few passers by. We were able to find a remote spot with ease, and before we knew it we felt comfortable enough to strip off and become naturists for the first time. Although we were considerably younger than the other couples at no time did we feel uncomfortable by the other naturists. We even plucked up the courage to go for a swim in the sea. We weren't bothered by the small fishing and sailing boats as they kept a good enough distance from the shoreline. The only 'textile' passers-by (which were very few) were walking their dogs, or genuinely walking along the shoreline, and did not appear to be 'gawking' and generally seemed to respect the naturist section. We agreed that we would definitely return to this beach and would recommend it to anyone considering to experience naturism for the first time, who don't want to be surronded by a large crowd." Trip Report: July 2004 "For my first nudist experience I found the beach perfect. The view is fantastic and the beach was quiet. My wife and I stayed for around an hour and we just had one yacht come close by but not too close to bother me. We swam in the sea and whilst wary of the currents we were not bothered by them. I am sure more visits will ensue."
Comments (2)
  written by mark salter, June 22, 2007
i had my first naturist experience on this beach. it was very easy to find and i felt completely comfortable stripping naked. a few boats past but it didnt bother me
written by James, May 14, 2008
Just back from a day at Browndown and it was (almost) perfect... A quiet weekday in May and not a cloud in the sky. I was in the area on business the day before so took a day off and made plans to head to the beach. I found the car park with no problem (60p per hr) and set off down the beach only to be confronted by the Army loading a landing craft around the start of the nudist section! Having negociated that I made it as far as the first of the large embankments. There was nobody to be seen beyond it so I set down my things (out of sight of the Army!), stripped off and settled in for just my 2nd day of nudism. I saw just 2 couples stroll along the shore in 4 hours. I sunbathed, relaxing on the side of the embankment for a while, went for a few short walks down the shore and braved a brief paddle. The Solent looked stunning with plenty of boats and I felt totally relaxed. One or two male nudists appeared back between the embankment and the "mushroom".
However, late in the afternoon as I was looking at my watch as my car park would run out, a 40ish portly man (clothed but trouserless) walked down the beach and on reaching me claimed he was being followed by a man (who I hadn't seen at all) and could he get some security hanging around me. I naively didn't object and before I knew it he had a towel down right next to me and had stripped off! Conversation went along the lines of "I haven't seen you down here before..." so I think I knew what he really wanted. I soon felt very uncomfortable so was happy to pack my bag and head back to my car. In retrospect I think I had seen this guy clothed earlier on standing on one of the other embankments and later sitting with binoculars back towards the mushroom whilst I was by the water - which is the direction he had appeared from. So on a deserted beach I had my personal space totally invaded - why can people like this not see what they do? I am 32 with a fit, slim body so that may be a novelty or temptation to some in a quiet spot like this but I doesn't mean I'm asking to be approached like that. I just want to enjoy the "freedom" of being nude and my personal space to be respected. If I was in the area I might head back to Browndown as most of my day was fantastic - I just wish I had left 10 mins earlier. However, I can't think of a more ideal spot in such a populated area. Now I look forward to my next visit to Dorset or Devon... Write comment
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
.
