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General
Located a little to the east of Clacton in Esex, St. Osyth derives its
name from the dedication of a local priory to a 7th century princess -
Osgyth - who was martryed there. The well- preserved Priory has a
particularly interesting gatehouse. The St. Osyth naturist beach is on the
North Sea coast (south facing) and is just to the east of the Colne
estuary.
Access & Parking Updated May 2002
St. Osyth lies south of the B1027 road from Colchester to Clacton-on-Sea.
Proceeding from Clacton, go west on the B1027 from its junction with the
A133 for just over two miles and take a minor road on the left signposted
'St. Osyth'. Head due south from St Osyth - Beach Road and to the end of
the road in Hutley's Caravan Park. This reaches a dead end at the
seawall with a car park pub and cafe just on the left . From there go over
sea wall on to the beach (or through gate in wall during day time), turn
right (west) and walk one mile to reach the naturist beach - slow and
rather difficult walking on the small shingle.
The dirt road which used to give access to the beach is no longer in existence - see below:
|
In early 2004 The road which runs along the beach was badly damaged
by winter storms: Image posted to 'uk.rec.naturist' by "Westcliffian" |
In reply to an enquiry about the future of the road Alan Hutley [from the nearby caravan park] said this:
"Unfortunally this winter about a 400 metre stretch of road got washed away. To rebuild the road we would have to retreat further back on to the saltings, this we are not allowed to touch, as it is an area of S.S.S.I. [Site of Special Scientific Interest]
To replace the road in its original place would only be temporary until the next rough high tide takes it away again. We would love to have the road again, but we have known for along time that one day we would lose the road, the only surprise was, that it did not occur sooner ."
Description
St Osyth beach is on the north shore of the Colne branch of the
Blackwater estuary. The shoreline is sand or shingle in some parts,
tending to estuary mud in others. Bathing at nearby Brightlingsea is said
to be dangerous - as is the case in many estuaries, so caution is
required. The far end of the naturist beach is fenced off and is a "Nature
Reserve" and "Private Property". To the north of the beach
lie marshes and dykes.
Facilities
None on the beach itself - nearest facilities are in St.Osyth itself.
Water Quality
Since it is not a recognised bathing beach, water quality details are not
available
Trip Report
"My partner and I went to St Osyth a few weeks ago and found it very inspiring as there is no other nudist beaches that we know of in Essex.
There was a family area and further down a gay section with swingers mixed together under tents! Because of the length of the beach you could avoid the gay / swingers areas if you wanted to. If they were doing anything, we certainly didn't see it. We then treated ourselves to an overnight stop off at the new secluded nudist B&B near Dunmow, Essex (called alto sax) on our way back to London. A really nice couple of days."
Trip Report August 2005
"Tara and I went down there [St. Osyth] a few weeks ago when the hot sun was about during the week. It takes around 20 minutes to walk from the car park to the beach which is good as it puts off non-naturists from going there just to snoop! Not so good if you are disabled or a more 'mature naturist'. There used to be a road down to the naturist beach, but not anymore. The path is a bit rocky in places but most of it is either shingle/sand (i.e. walking along the beach), or walking along the path via the sand dunes. There was rubbish strewn around but this cleared away as you got closer to the naturist area.
The beach is quite large - around 2 miles long and is not overlooked. It backs on to wasteground which stretches for around 1 - 2 miles before it borders on to a road or track. The beach seems to be split into three different areas. The first part of the beach is straight naturists. Here there were several couples, two women on their own and around 5 men. There was a good atmosphere, no one stared at you and one could relax. The second half of the beach was men only, and I learned that this is unofficially the gay part of the beach. Despite being exclusively men, Tara and I did not feel intimated and the men behaved respectfully, when we strolled along this part of the beach.
The third part of the beach is the sand dunes behind the beach. Here couples were camped out in tents and also many men had set their towels down here. I was told by some regulars that this is - or used to be - a kind of swinging area and that some couples get a little bit carried away and end up having sex with others watching nearby. Tara and I didn't see this on that day, mind you we weren't seeking it anyway!
Overall, if you understand the different areas of this naturist beach, you can have a great time. There are no facilities as such so you need to take your own drinks, food and sunshade. We will definitely be going back.
If your thinking of visitng St Osyth, why not book in for a night at Alto Sax as well? - see http://www.alto-sax.co.uk for details."
Trip Report September 2004
"Have just spent a few hours on Saturday and Sunday 4th and 5th September 2004 at the nudist beach.
There were a lot of naturists there, many couples and single men as the weather was absolutely fantastic on both days, This was my first time, but felt quite comfortable baring all in public. The walk from the carpark is about 1km and took 15 mins which I quite enjoyed, the only problem is when the tide comes in you have to negotiate the rocks and rubble from the old road that has broken up. The beach is all shingle, but there is plenty of grass amongst the clumps of bracken to hide yourself if prefered. I thoroughly enjoyed my visits and hope to return before summer is over"
Trip Report August 2004
"Paid a visit to St. Osyth on the 15th August 2004.
What was the road is now just rubble. I have no idea what happened to the original road but there is NO sign of it at all! The whole long road section has completely vanished to be replaced by rubble (presumably the foundations of the road). On the good news front the same storms seem to have removed a lot of the shingle to reveal sand underneath. This is a welcome change.
The shoreline is now very suitable for mountain biking provide a great way to get to the naturist part of the beach. Other improvements are a new dune/nature/bird conservation area right in the middle of the beach. This is actually quite nice complete with illustrated notices about what is going on."
Trip Report August 2004
"I went to St Osyth again this year (2004) and noticed a remarkable change. The access is, as stated by various others, by foot only. This is OK when the tide is out. However, when the tide is in the walk can be quite treacherous. As I walked along the beach towards the naturist area, I noticed that a woman was sunbathing in the relative privacy of a wind break a short distance before the designated naturist area. I walked the full length of the naturist area and then walked all the way back to the area where the woman was because there did appear to be nothing except men and same sex couples ogling anyone who was passing. Being a single hetero male, their actions made me feel a little uncomfortable about undressing near them. It could just be my paranoia, but I have noticed that usually naturists carry on with what they are doing, perhaps looking up to give a polite nod of acknowledgement. The men on this beach on the particular day that I went seemed to 'move in' to where I was."
Trip Report August 2004
" I paid a visit to St. Osyth on the 15th August 2004.
What was the road is now just rubble. I have no idea what happened to the original road but there is NO sign of it at all! The whole long road section has completely vanished to be replaced by rubble (presumably the foundations of the road).
On the good news front the same storms seem to have removed a lot of the shingle to reveal sand underneath. This is a welcome change. The shoreline is now very suitable for mountain biking provide a great way to get to the naturist part of the beach. Other improvements are a new dune/nature/bird conservation area right in the middle of the beach. This is actually quite nice complete with illustrated notices about what is going on."
Trip Report August 2004
My husband and I have been going to this beach for over 15 years and we were very upset when we went down this year. My husband being now not able to walk so far [we] just about managed it but I was constantly worring about the trip back across the rocks as they are very loose and an accident waiting to happen. We have made so many friends here - its such a great shame, we long for the lovely days we have spent there with our friends laying in the sun swimming and just having a relaxing, fun time . Yes, you get the odd person coming along but no joyriders.. one tends to ignore them (well I know Ido although I must admit to feeling slightly threatened the first time we hiked down there so many single men and one was conscious of them)
Trip Report July 2004
"As a regular user of the beach in 2003, it was much enjoyed and was very relaxing and stress free. 2004 so far has been full of stress and a feeling of being very uncomfortable. This is due to the increasing arrival of single and gay men - which is a shame on families and the elderly which like to visit the beach. It would be a goood idea if the beach were patrolled on a regular basis, so that families and visitors of a naturist nature could come and enjoy themselves without any hassle of men watching and masturbating for all to see. So, maybe it would be a good idea for the beach to be used for couples, families, elderly and not single and gay men.
I am very concerned about the road and the state of the beach with the rubble that is strewn across the whole area - very dangerous to anybody that wants to swim.... as for the road that's nature and cannot be helped, which is a crying shame for any disabled and elderly people. I hope that in the near future something can be done about all of this. Happy and stress free bathing to all."
Trip Report June 2004
"Went to St Osyths today (6/6/04) and was very surprised to see the damage down there.... It's a great shame you can't drive down there anymore because it's a long walk ! Having said that I still enjoyed it once I got there. It had been really hot all morning but by the time I got there it was quite cloudy so the sun was fleeting. Still, there were a few people about and was still quite enjoyable.
My main concern is the safety of access now. It is now quite dangerous as there is virtually no path at all on some bits and you end up clambering over loose rocks, etc. It was rough getting down there but was worse getting back as the tide was higher. While the car access is a pain I would like to see a proper footpath made up... "
Comment - January 2004
"As a caravanner, my wife and I have been visiting St. Osyth nudist beach for the last 3years and find this [a] quiet relaxing beach... they have made a huge difference to road leading to the nudist part, .....by using the touring park at Hutleys we find it a great escape from the normal holiday.."
The writer (and others) have expressed concern about sexual activity at St Osyth - both on the beach itself and where cars are parked. These reports, refer to single men masturbating and, it must be said, objectionable behaviour by gays.
Comment - May 2005
"As a regular user of this beach, and being a single male, I do not like the fact that single men are stereotyped. We do not all sit on the beach and masturbate, or participate in gay activity in full view. I am a bi-sexual who would never dream of doing either.... St. Osyth is a lovely place to go and relax and enjoy being myself."
Trip Report: August 2003
" [The] beach was very busy with a really good mix of people. It
seems that the far end of the beach was used mainly by the gay community.
As the evening drew closer it seemed like the naturists left and in came
the swingers.... so we decided to leave. Overall it was a great day - but
if you're not into swinging leave before five o'clock".
"Plenty of "watchers" go by either in boats, or "just passing by" - don't know whether they think we don't realise that there's nowhere to go beyond the official naturist section or what, but not really a problem. We do recommend a visit. Good idea if you have a camper to take it as it's a nuisance having to go back to the entrance to get to a toilet. On a warm day the ice cream van will call all the way up the beach. "
11/8/99 Trip Report from 'Driftwood"
Vehicle access to the beach now costs £1.40 [£1.50 as of 2003],
cars and m/cycles. Pint of IPA at the nearby Sailor Boy (sic), £2.10.
London prices! There's a sign at the entrance to the beach indicating the
naturist section at a distance of 1 km. I remember it seeming like quite a
long way to walk, but it takes very little time with a vehicle. Feeling
lazy I paid my money and rode along the beach. A sign stated that the
track may be covered by the tide between 14:00 and 15:00 - I guess they
must change it from time to time :-)
Next time, I'll probably leave my car at the entrance and continue by
mountain bike. Buses terminate here, service/route 1 "St. Osyth's
Beach"; not sure where they come from, though.
The naturist section is still sign posted and I noted new signs asking
people to ensure they are dressed when leaving this section. The coastal
erosion works have been completed and the beach is now unobstructed.
Yesterday, a weekday and during school holidays, the beach was far from
crowded; ideal for anyone not wanting to share a beach cheek (sic) by
jowl. Beach: mainly shingle, with low, scrubby dunes.
Facilities: absent on the beach itself, apart from litter bins, but
everything you would expect for the caravan park holidaymaker is at the
entrance to the beach.
2/7/99
" Formentera it's not... a little coarse [sand], but softer than
shingle."
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