Post by Irish Stu on Jun 15, 2009 16:22:02 GMT -6
As I have previously posted in Jake's thread on the subject, we joined in one of the World Naked Bike Ride events this weekend at Brighton on England's south coast. Most of the rides around the world took place on Saturday, but Brighton decided to hold theirs on Sunday to allow people to do the London ride on Saturday, and then Brighton, which is only 50 miles away, on Sunday.
We arrived in Brighton the day before and checked into our hotel, the Gerrards Hotel in the Kemp Town, a five minute walk from the city centre. Kemp Town is the city's gay district and is packed with bars, clubs, cafes and galleries, and is a lovely area of narrow streets and garden squares. Gerrards is a boutique hotel and each of its eight rooms has a theme, Parisienne, Kasbah, Zen etc. You can see pictures of them all here www.gerrardshotel.com/rooms.html We had booked the Colonial Suite, which had a fantastic view out of the gardens in the square below, and down to the sea and pier.
Saturday afternoon was spent strolling along the seafront taking in the sights, and shopping in the city's 'Lanes' district which is crammed with small cafes, clothes shops, boutiques, and other shops selling all kinds of weird and wonderful things. Then on Sunday, after a hearty breakfast, we set off for The Level, a small park on the northern outskirts of the city where the ride was to begin. There were already hundreds of our fellow riders there when we arrived, in varying states of undress. Many were wearing costumes, some with their faces heavily disguised to avoid being recognised, others waiting till the very last second to strip off. The organisers had laid on a body painting area so many were having anti-car/pro-bike slogans painted on them in support of the event's aims to discourage car usage.
When we eventually set off the route took us down to the seafront for a couple of miles to a large grassed area for a rest and bathroom break, then up into, and through, the city centre followed by another break in a small park, then finally through Kemp Town and back down to the seafront to the nude beach. A total of 7.6 miles according to the official website. Along the way crowds had gathered to cheer and enjoy the spectacle. All in all it was all very good natured and we had a really fantastic day... much more fun than I could ever have imagined and I'd certainly do it again.
The Gerrards Hotel is the one painted white in the middle. Our room was the one on the second floor with the balcony :
The view from our window :
And the view a little while later :
Our walk along the seafront, starting with Brighton's famous pier :
The rebuilt Grand Hotel on Brighton's seafront. This was blown up by an IRA bomb in 1984 in an attempt to kill Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet who were staying there during the Conservative Party's annual conference at the conference centre next door. The bomb had been planted 3.5 weeks beforehand. Five people were killed, including the wife of my then local MP John Wakeham, and 34 others were injured, some very seriously.
The Grand after the bomb :
Heading towards The Lanes :
The Lanes :
Some pics from The Level that I *can* post from before the ride set off :
I took plenty of other pictures, but because of the nudity if I upload them to Photobucket they will just delete them, and likewise I don't want them on my work server either. I could spend forever covering them in black boxes to hide the genitals but that would just spoil them.
However, we did get chatting to a photographer who was there and she has uploaded some stunning pictures, so it is well worth clicking through the link below :
www.flickr.com/photos/heatherbuckley/sets/72157619653511759/
Simon
We arrived in Brighton the day before and checked into our hotel, the Gerrards Hotel in the Kemp Town, a five minute walk from the city centre. Kemp Town is the city's gay district and is packed with bars, clubs, cafes and galleries, and is a lovely area of narrow streets and garden squares. Gerrards is a boutique hotel and each of its eight rooms has a theme, Parisienne, Kasbah, Zen etc. You can see pictures of them all here www.gerrardshotel.com/rooms.html We had booked the Colonial Suite, which had a fantastic view out of the gardens in the square below, and down to the sea and pier.
Saturday afternoon was spent strolling along the seafront taking in the sights, and shopping in the city's 'Lanes' district which is crammed with small cafes, clothes shops, boutiques, and other shops selling all kinds of weird and wonderful things. Then on Sunday, after a hearty breakfast, we set off for The Level, a small park on the northern outskirts of the city where the ride was to begin. There were already hundreds of our fellow riders there when we arrived, in varying states of undress. Many were wearing costumes, some with their faces heavily disguised to avoid being recognised, others waiting till the very last second to strip off. The organisers had laid on a body painting area so many were having anti-car/pro-bike slogans painted on them in support of the event's aims to discourage car usage.
When we eventually set off the route took us down to the seafront for a couple of miles to a large grassed area for a rest and bathroom break, then up into, and through, the city centre followed by another break in a small park, then finally through Kemp Town and back down to the seafront to the nude beach. A total of 7.6 miles according to the official website. Along the way crowds had gathered to cheer and enjoy the spectacle. All in all it was all very good natured and we had a really fantastic day... much more fun than I could ever have imagined and I'd certainly do it again.
The Gerrards Hotel is the one painted white in the middle. Our room was the one on the second floor with the balcony :
The view from our window :
And the view a little while later :
Our walk along the seafront, starting with Brighton's famous pier :
The rebuilt Grand Hotel on Brighton's seafront. This was blown up by an IRA bomb in 1984 in an attempt to kill Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet who were staying there during the Conservative Party's annual conference at the conference centre next door. The bomb had been planted 3.5 weeks beforehand. Five people were killed, including the wife of my then local MP John Wakeham, and 34 others were injured, some very seriously.
The Grand after the bomb :
Heading towards The Lanes :
The Lanes :
Some pics from The Level that I *can* post from before the ride set off :
I took plenty of other pictures, but because of the nudity if I upload them to Photobucket they will just delete them, and likewise I don't want them on my work server either. I could spend forever covering them in black boxes to hide the genitals but that would just spoil them.
However, we did get chatting to a photographer who was there and she has uploaded some stunning pictures, so it is well worth clicking through the link below :
www.flickr.com/photos/heatherbuckley/sets/72157619653511759/
Simon
