Summer Camp 2026: Where Everybody Belongs

Good morning from another beautiful day in Welshpool.

The campsite is beginning to stir once again. A few early risers already have a mug of tea in hand, breakfast aromas are drifting between the tents, and familiar smiles are appearing as another day of Summer Camp begins. It is becoming a lovely rhythm now. The sun rises, the conversations begin, and before long somebody is laughing somewhere across the field.

That, more than anything, is what I have noticed during my first Summer Camp.

People arrive because they are curious about naturism.

They stay because they discover community.

Over the past few days I have watched friendships grow naturally. Some people arrived knowing nobody at all, yet today you would never guess they had only just met. They are sharing meals, helping each other with tents, cheering one another on during activities, sitting together around the campfire and chatting over a cup of tea as though they have known each other for years.

It reminds me that belonging is rarely created by grand gestures.

It is created through hundreds of small moments.

A warm welcome.

A shared smile.

Someone remembering your name.

A chair being pulled out so you can join the conversation.

These are the moments that quietly change lives.

Looking back over the photographs from the past few days, what strikes me isn’t the activities themselves. Yes, there has been wonderful entertainment from Jason, fantastic music from Busker Dave, delicious Welsh food, and more laughter than I could possibly count. But the photographs tell a deeper story.

They show people looking relaxed.

Comfortable.

Accepted.

Present.

Nobody is performing for anyone else.

People simply seem free to enjoy being themselves.

That is something rather special.

Naturism in Wales has always spoken about kindness, acceptance, respect and community, but this week I have watched those words become real. They are no longer ideas written on a website. They are visible in every conversation, every shared meal and every welcoming smile offered to somebody new.

For many people, genuinely safe spaces are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Modern life can often feel hurried, noisy and full of expectations. We spend so much time wondering whether we fit in, whether we look right, or whether we are somehow being judged.

Here, something different happens.

People matter more than appearances.

Character matters more than perfection.

Kindness matters more than comparison.

That creates something incredibly powerful.

As I look at today’s programme, I realise every activity is really just another opportunity to bring people together. Field games will create teamwork and laughter. Crafts will encourage creativity. Meditation offers quiet reflection. Body painting becomes a canvas for imagination. The Holi Paint Fight will undoubtedly leave everybody wonderfully colourful, while Musical Bingo, Karaoke and an evening of cheese and crackers will continue conversations long after the activities themselves have finished.

The timetable is full.

The memories will be made in the spaces between it.

As Summer Camp 2026 moves into another phenomenal day, I feel incredibly grateful to be here.

Not because every activity will be perfect.

Not because the weather always behaves.

Not because everything always goes exactly to plan.

But because every single person here helps create an environment where everybody has the opportunity to belong.

Perhaps that is the real philosophy of naturism.

It is not simply about feeling comfortable in your own skin.

It is about helping somebody else feel comfortable in theirs.

If we can leave Summer Camp carrying that feeling back into our everyday lives, then what we have created here will continue long after the last tent comes down.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I can hear laughter already drifting across the field.

That usually means another wonderful day has officially begun.

See you somewhere between the games, the music, the conversations… and the friendships yet to be made.