Naked Odyssey 2022

Inspired by participation in nude outdoor photo shoots for Spencer Tunick, Matt Granger and Natansky – some pre-organised, others guerilla-style – I resolved that, from 2016, impromptu naked photography would be a part of all my world travels…

For my first travels of 2022, I visited St Ives in Cornwall to catch the ‘Kemeneth‘ exhibition by artist Adam James at Tate St Ives. Whilst there, I also continued my Naked Odyssey with walks along the coast and to megalithic sites. I took comfort from the unseasonable warmth, but less so the climate change it signified.

Under ancient Lanyon Quoit – location map.

The coast near Nanquidno – location map.

On Gwynver Beach – location map.

In Dorset I continued my long hikes to the sites of great stones, both ancient and modern. Weymouth was my base, from where I took the bus north to Dorchester, thence west to Winterbourne Abbas and walked south to Portesham. Eastwards I went via Wareham to Corfe Castle and further to Studland.

By Hellstone – location map.

In the Valley of the Stones – location map.

Seen at Studland – location map.

At last, the lifting of coronavirus travel restrictions in the UK and many other countries makes travel abroad viable. Even so, I could have done without catching COVID-19 in the two weeks before my flight to Prague. Restored to good health, Esther and I enjoyed grandiosity and greenery in the Czech Republic capital.

Hotel International Prague beyond the Vltava – location map.

Esther by the Vltava – location map.

Bazilika svatého Petra a Pavla beyond the Vltava – location map.

On the viewing terrace at Kinsky Garden – location map.

Across the city to St Vitus Cathedral – location map.

A short-break with Esther to Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, became a long break when easyJet cancelled four successive flights home. But every day became a bonus. After city sightseeing and a bus trip to Orllan, we enjoyed a joyous solstice music festival in the Zahir Pajaziti amphitheatre and, best of all, Femart.

By the fence of Pristina’s Jewish cemetery – location map.

At the National Library of Kosovo – location map.

Orllan end of Lake Batlava – location map.

In front of the Kosovan government’s office tower – location map.

Esther and the ribbed roof of the Youth and Sports Palace – location map.

Summer in Gdańsk, Poland. I had expected to find a post-industrial port in the early throes of regeneration, but instead found a bright, busy, modern European centre of culture. Elsewhere, I visited Bydgoszcz (trains didn’t make it to Toruń), Malbork, and trekked 14km along the Hel Peninsula beach from Hel to Jaruta.

At the entrance to Hel – location map.

On the sands of Hel – location map.

Esther and I stayed a week at Tromsø on Tromsøya island, near the far north of Norway. We visited Senja and Kvaløya islands. Esther took daily dips; open water swimming in Arctic sea and lakes. I stuck to naked air baths. Beyond Kvaløyvågen, at 69°52’39.1"N, 18°48’31.1"E, we went farther north than we’d ever been.

Arctic waterfall at Ersfjordbotn – location map.

Overlooking Ersfjorden – location map.

Storvatnet lake, Senja – location map.

Gisundbrua bridge, from Senja – location map.

North of Kvaløyvågen – location map.

Varden, highest point of Tromsøya – location map.

When flights for Antalya were cancelled, Esther and I set our sights instead on Tangier in Morocco – a city I’d long wanted to explore. Our reward was a seductively mellow week, enjoying mint tea in the old medina, fullsome meals in the new town, and slow sunlit walks between Merkala Beach and Cap Malabata.

On Plage Mrisat at Cap Malabata – location map.