A weekend at Club du Soleil de Limoges, in Bos Redon
Bussière-Galant, Haute-Vienne. It’s here, on the six wooded hectares of the Bos Redon site, that the Club du Soleil de Limoges held its Saint-Jean celebration in late June. I was there with my Nus au Soleil stand, and I wanted to share this weekend as I lived it, because it says a lot about what a community-run naturist club looks like in France today.
Potluck lunch and a small market
The programme started gently, with a potluck lunch where everyone brings something to share. A simple format, but one that sets the tone for the whole weekend right away: friendly, unpretentious, where conversation matters as much as the food.
A small market followed, modest in size but warm in spirit. I had my stand right next to a beekeeper, and it was exactly this smaller format that allowed for the richest exchanges. No crowds to manage, just time to present my work to each visitor and listen in return to their connection with this place.
Games, raffle, and a legendary punch bowl
The afternoon was given over to outdoor activities and games, in that easygoing atmosphere typical of family-oriented naturist clubs. The Bos Redon site, with its wooded grounds and unspoiled setting, lends itself particularly well to this.
Then came the evening drinks, marked by a raffle and an absolutely enormous bowl of punch that caused quite a stir (and plenty of happy faces). The evening barbecue followed naturally, capped off with a dessert contest that ended the night on a note as sweet as it was competitive.
A night under canvas, with a touch of storm
I camped on site, and the sky decided to join in with a small overnight storm. Nothing dramatic, more the kind of mishap that becomes part of the experience, and one we were still laughing about the next morning.
A quiet Sunday morning
Sunday started gently, with a shared breakfast and a well-earned moment of chill before everyone hit the road again.
What people shared with me
It was during these informal moments, between games or around the punch bowl, that members talked to me about the club’s future: a few projects in the works for the site, how they think about organising the space across the seasons, and how they welcome visiting naturists in summer, all within the framework of an FFN-affiliated association like this one.
What I take away from it is that a club like this one in Limoges is more than a campsite. It’s a living structure, carried forward by volunteers who think collectively about its future, generation after generation.
Why this matters for Nus au Soleil
I deeply believe these community clubs are an essential part of France’s naturist heritage, often less visible than the major resorts, but just as foundational. Documenting these places through illustration is also a way of paying tribute to them, and introducing them to people who may not even know they exist nearby.
Thank you to the Club du Soleil de Limoges for such a warm welcome, and to everyone I met at Bos Redon for their generosity and curiosity.
