Deliberate
policy of discrimination against naturists
June 1999
And now a letter from someone who, at the time he wrote, was not a SUN member. He may have joined by the time of publication, in which case he will
recognise his words, but for the time being we will preserve his anonymity and
say simply that he writes from Yateley:
Dear SUN,
My wife and I have been enjoying the naturist beach at Studland for many
years but feel that it is being spoiled by the National Trust since they began 'organising' it over the last few years.
There appears to be a deliberate
policy of discrimination against naturists with the intention of driving us
away. So when I saw your advert on the Sandbanks Ferry I decided it was time to
stand up and be counted.
The introduction of the dog ban really spoiled our family holiday last year.
In the past, my wife and I have been able to sit on the water's edge with our
dog all day, and watch over our children playing in the sea. Now, we have to sit
in the dunes where we cannot always see our children and if anything happens we
are a long way from them. We feel particularly aggrieved that the National Trust has
deliberately forced this dangerous situation upon us, especially when
non-nudists have three huge areas where they can sit on the beach with their
dogs. Why can't naturists have a small area at one end of the beach where we can
sit with our dogs? It would be easy to police and the cost would be
three or four signposts (covered by my National Trust subscription).
Anonymous from Yateley
An interesting point, which l am rather surprised has not been
raised by anyone else - or maybe there are simply no other SUN members who have
both children and dogs? It is certainly something that the National Trust should have
considered when trying to impose their vindictive anti-nudist policies. We sent
this writer an application form and added a note to the covering letter that, in
our opinion, the National Trust had no power to ban dogs from the water's edge because it is
a public right of way (the South West Coastal Path, a Public Footpath which is
marked on the Definitive Map at County Hall).
The following is the policy the National Trust would like dog owners to
adhere to:
Dogs on Studland Beach
The majority of beaches on the south coast prohibit dogs in the summer. The
National Trust allows dogs onto parts of the beach all year. Please observe the
restrictions.
1st Monday in September to end April inclusive:
Access to all beaches
May 1st to last Friday in June:
Access to beaches, but dogs must be on leads
Last Saturday in June to first Sunday in September inclusive:
Knoll Beach: Dogs NOT permitted on the beach
Middle Beach: Dogs NOT permitted on the beach
South Beach: Dogs on leads permitted
Shell Bay: Dogs on leads permitted
Information leaflet available from car park kiosks and visitor centre. Please
clean up after your dog. Poop scoops are available at Knoll Beach Visitor
Centre. Dog bins are provided.
As stated above, we believe the National Trust has no power to ban dogs from the water's edge because
the South West Coastal Path is a Public Footpath which is
marked on the Definitive Map at County Hall.
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