How many naturists or nudists are there? In 2011 British Naturism commissioned an opinion poll from Ipsos MORI which, among many other questions, asked whether the interviewees considered themselves a naturist or nudist. The proportion was 6%, which if reflected in the UK population would mean around 3.7 million self-proclaimed actual or potential supporters of naturism. That compares with the dwindling membership of BN, in 2012 down to around 10000.

Many naturists refuse to believe it can be so many as nearly 4 million. They are so secretive that of course they meet only a very few other naturists, their world is so small. They assume that anyone who is not in a club or BN is not a naturist.

But maybe there are a lot more of us around. Since being very open about naturism, we have found interest among friends and colleagues. One friend we found had always had a desire to try naturism, and has come with us to Abbey House Gardens. She talked about it at another group, and found another of her friends was a naturist. We have had a couple of enquiries about naturist holidays from friends who were interested but had never quite got round to it. We found a widow whose husband had always been nude at home. I found a work colleague who had used a naturist beach. And these six are only those that chose to speak to us.

So there's one example: between two of us, so far we have found six other potential naturists. The ratio can surely only get bigger. So maybe there are a lot of naturists around, if only we could find them.

When the British Humanist Association sponsored the Atheist Bus Campaign, a series of adverts on London buses, there was a big increase in the membership of the BHA. Some of those new members spoke of how the adverts had made them aware that they were not alone in their beliefs, and how it was a revelation to find a respected national voice. Something with the same sort of public impact could do the same for naturism.

Of course, confidence is required. The bus campaign was triggered by bus adverts from a religious group condemning to eternal torture those who did not share their beliefs, and the ABC attracted hysterical responses and challenges which the BHA faced up to and saw off.

I also liked the Stonewall campaign of posters on the London Underground, from around 2008: "Some people are gay - get over it", which I thought effective, provocative but not offensive. What would we say?

No clothes = no worries.