Latest news with #sunbathing
The Independent
19-05-2025
- The Independent
From secluded bays to family-friendly shores, discover the Costa Dorada's bucket-list beaches
Whether you prefer your sunbathing broken up by a spot of snorkelling, experiencing local culture, or simply blissfully uninterrupted – the Costa Dorada (locally known as Costa Daurada) has the perfect beach for you. With 50 miles of coastline, and 26 Blue Flag beaches, it doesn't matter if you're after calm waters, family-friendly facilities or adventurous water sports – there's a sunspot that caters for every traveller. What's more, with Jet2holidays flying to the Costa Dorada from 12 UK airports and a range of two to five-star accommodation, it's easy to get your beach break sorted. Jet2holidays is always giving you more, to help make planning and booking as smooth as possible. That goes for the PayPal Pay in 3 interest-free payments** option, 22kg baggage and 10kg hand luggage, and return transfers† that are included. Look out for Free Child Places***, and infants under two go free‡. Here we pick out just some of the region's gorgeous shores to delve into… Relax on the stunning sands of la Pineda Platja, in Vila-seca In one of the most picturesque and lively parts of Costa Dorada sits this almost two-and-a-half mile stretch of beach, lined with palms as well as the famous pine trees that give the area its name. It's fab for everything from gentle strolls and paddles to more active games of volleyball, sand football and tennis. Other activities on offer include everything from shoreside Zumba classes to yoga, meditation and mindfulness sessions. The slow slope of sand into sparkling waters makes it ideal for families with young children, while for the real water babies, the exhilarating Aquopolis waterpark is only a short walk from the beach. With plenty of bars, restaurants, toilets and shower facilities lining the pretty promenade, there's no reason not to stay all day. Explore the calm coastline of Cambrils With over five miles of Blue Flag beaches, all with gentle waters, Cambrils makes an excellent family-friendly break. Great for water sports such as kayaking, paddleboarding and sailing – especially at the pristine Platja del Cavet Beach, where the Escola Nàutica water sports centre offers windsurfing lessons. For something more laidback, head to Platja de la Llosa for a series of smaller, but equally beautiful, beaches and coves. Then why not potter around the picturesque, cobbled alleyways of the old town to sample delicious local dishes? While you're in the area, take the opportunity to visit neighbouring Platja de la Pixerota in Mont-roig on the southern border of Cambrils, to enjoy breathtaking views out to the Gulf of Sant Jordi and learn about the fascinating Spanish Civil War bunkers situated in the middle of the beach. Enjoy family-friendly fun in Salou As the tourist capital of the Costa Dorada and the epicentre of amusement and entertainment, Salou's beaches are home to good times for kids and adults alike. And being so close to PortAventura World (one of Europe's largest theme parks) means double the fun, when so many of Jet2holidays ' Experience More hotels include park entry, meaning staying and playing is on the cards. Don't miss the stunning Llevant Beach, dotted with colourful sunloungers and umbrellas, where the sea is filled with kayaks and jet skis. In between sunbathing and water sports, you can also enjoy wandering along its pretty promenade of shops, restaurants and bars. For something a little more secluded, take the coastal path to the sand dunes, pine trees and shallow crystalline waters of Platja Llarga, which is great for snorkelling. This charming beach town is as much a magnet to those looking for lazy beach days as it is for history lovers. A medieval castle forms the backdrop to a swathe of fine golden sand at Platja d'Altafulla, and it's a stone's throw from the famous Roman ruins at Tarragona. You can even borrow a book from the Bibliomar beach library, which also organises workshops and storytelling, or join a yoga or Pilates class on the sands. Walk down to neighbouring Tamarit Beach, which has its own castle dating back to the 11th century, as well as some friendly beach bars for a cheeky cocktail. Also in the area is family-friendly Coma-ruga Beach in El Vendrell. Its clear waters, palm-lined promenade of restaurants, bars and shops, and natural thermal springs, make for a balanced beach break. The soft, sloping sands make Platja La Paella a super-safe option for families with children who love spending all day in the sea. As for water sports, there's a designated area for surfers, and a bespoke exit and entry point for jet skis. The nearby marina offers scuba diving, snorkelling, water skiing and boat trips. For those who prefer being on terra firma, there are kids' playgrounds, and a sports zone with four volleyball courts and three beach football pitches, often hosting championships. In summer, sports camps and gymnastics sessions are held here. Discover nature and seclusion at Platja de l'Arenal in l'Hospitalet de l'Infant One of the most unique beaches in the Costa Dorada, the sugar-like sands and translucent waters of l'Arenal are split into two parts. There's the northern section with its promenade and the Base Nautica water sports resort, which offers dinghy sailing, windsurfing and kayaking. Then there's the southern part, which can only be accessed via a listed Blue Trail footpath. Here you can enjoy magnificent dunes, marshlands and white pine woodlands around a more tranquil shore. With Jet2holidays, you can book your trip to the Costa Dorada with lots of package perks thrown in to make getting away even easier. From a low £60 per person deposit* to PayPal Pay in 3 interest-free payments**, 22kg baggage and 10kg hand luggage per person to return transfers†, it's all included. Families can make the most of Free Child Places*** while infants under two go free‡. And with flights included and the choice of two to five-star hotels, Jet2holidays is always giving you more. For more Costa Dorada travel inspiration, and to find and book your ultimate holiday, visit Jet2holidays. Plus, right now, myJet2 members can save £100 per person§ in The Big Jet2 Price Drop (correct at original publish date). *On bookings made ten weeks or more before departure. Full payment required by balance due date. **Spread the cost over three interest-free payments. Available when booked online, for holidays under £2,000, departing within ten weeks. ***One free child place per two paying passengers. Subject to availability. T&Cs apply, please see for further details. †Unless otherwise stated. ‡Applicable for all infants under the age of two years on the date of return. Infants are not entitled to a flight seat (they must be seated with a parent or guardian) or a 22kg baggage allowance. §£100 per person off holidays for myJet2 members departing until 15 November 2026. myJet2 members will need to be logged into their account at the time of booking for the discount to automatically apply. Book online, via our app, through our call centre or with your travel agent. Please note the discount is not applied to children travelling on a free child place. Terms and conditions apply, please see for details.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Buff Tom Brady goes totally naked at mansion opposite ex Gisele Bundchen... as insiders cheekily reveal: 'He knows what he's doing'
Tom Brady stripped down for a naked sunbathing session on the roof of his Miami mansion this week. In sizzling exclusive snaps obtained by the Daily Mail, the NFL icon, 47, bared all as he showcased his tanned, muscly frame while relaxing at his 'Billionaire Bunker' in Indian Creek - just across the way from ex-wife Gisele Bundchen 's own luxury pad.
The Sun
14-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
I'm 63 but still sunbathe topless in parks & on beaches when it's hot – strangers moan but I don't care who sees
IF there is one thing I love, its sunbathing topless. Every year, come the summer months, I think nothing about getting to my sunlounger in the garden, the park, or on the beach, spreading out on my towel and whipping off my bikini top. 4 4 After months of being shrouded in woollies and layers, I find it liberating to feel my body drinking in the golden rays. There is something about heat and near nakedness that makes me feel fun and footloose. Except I am not a nubile 30-year-old, I am a 63-year-old woman. I don't see why it should be such a big deal anyway. I'm a firm believer that summer is the time when you can be your best, fun, and carefree self. It is not the time to be fretting about your wobbly bits or the size of your stomach. Looking back, since I was 16 and on holiday in the South of France with my friends, I have been soaking up the rays sans bikini top. In the 1980s we wafted around the sands of Portofino and Sicily flaunting our lithe, bronzed bodies wearing only skimpy bikini bottoms and a golden suntan, and checking the admiring glances from local boys. Fast forward four decades, and while the admiring glances are a thing of the past, skimpy bikini bottoms and not much else is still my go-to beach uniform. Don't get me wrong, I am not under any delusion that I look like my 30-year-old self. Like most women, I am no stranger to wobbly fat, sunken soufflé bottom, and things heading south. But that doesn't mean I have to cover up. No way. Of course not everyone agrees. I distinctly remember several years ago on holiday in Nice with my then-fiancé and a few other couples. As I stripped off, some of the men gawped, and a few of the women tutted and whispered amongst themselves, seeing it as some sort of come-hither gesture to their balding hubbies. Hang on! Isn't it time we grew up and stopped tittering over unfettered mammaries (which are petite anyway)? Horny swingers or wholesome fun? Fabulous lets it all hang out at a naked festival to find out why naturism is booming in the UK The way I see it is that it's the tut tutters who think nothing of harassing me when I am lying there topless in the sun. Despite finding a quiet grassy area to lay my towel in the park, passersby will roll their eyes, and mothers with children shake their heads. One man stood there staring, and another came up to me obviously thinking, 'she's topless, she's fair game.' One hot day a couple of weeks ago, a dark haired young man sat a metre away, gawping at my chest and then started to chat me up - I politely asked him to move away and he got quite riled. My more judgy friends say being half naked in a public place is asking for it, 'put your top back on", they roar. How unfair it all is. I don't sunbathe topless to get attention. It is the only way you're going to avoid those white triangles and get an all-over tan. I am careful to cover up with sunscreen to avoid burning, but there is nothing like a full body sun kiss to make you feel and look healthy. And Vitamin D, as we know, is very good for you. 4 4 Do men cover up the minute their stomachs start to resemble anything less than a washboard? Do they heck. In my experience, they don't even notice if it's getting a bit flabby. I have lost count of boyfriends who sunbathe happily despite packing a generous midlife paunch. And no one minds. Don't get me wrong, I am unlikely to be found uploading boob-shots on Instagram. But I still see my body as something to be celebrated. We all should. Yet, go to any beach and women spend their time in a series of ill-fated sarong purchases to cover up any sight of dimpled flesh and a line in sturdy swimsuits. It's always the British. Why are we so weird when it comes to nudity? Our wink wink nudge nudge attitude is stuck somewhere in the Carry On films of the 1950s/60s and daring to bare is still seen as tasteless and inappropriate on anyone over 25. Last year on a holiday in Marbella as I lay on the sun lounger soaking in the suns rays, one English man in his late 60s clad with a medicine ball stomach and tight swimming shorts came over wagging his finger, and then told me I should be ashamed, there were families around, he said. including his. I was flabbergasted. I told him it was none of his business, and other families on the beach looked away when I smiled. Others tittered, and a couple even pointed. I had broken the silent contract. Thou shalt not show thyself in public, tuples over 40. Well, isn't it time we got over our collective guilt about our bodies and start realising that it is simply about being natural? I refuse to put my bikini top back on and sit there fidgeting around with straps and underwire, not to mention getting two ugly white triangles on my chest, just because the bikini police think it is unbecoming in someone my age. Is it legal to sunbathe topless in the UK? Yes, it is legal to sunbathe topless in the UK. The UK does not have a law that makes topless sunbathing illegal in itself. Being naked or topless in public is not an offence unless it causes distress or alarm to others. The test for whether an action is offensive is whether a reasonable person would be put in a state of fear or alarm. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, it must be done discreetly. The police encourage telling your neighbours if you are going to sunbathe topless in your garden, and recommend doing it out of view, to avoid any trouble. What about other countries? The laws around topless or nude sunbathing depend on each country. For example... Australia – Topless sunbathing is legal, with plenty of official nudist beaches. New Zealand –Not illegal but you must do it in a designated area. Ireland – Illegal to sunbathe topless and no official nude beaches. USA – In 32 states you shouldn't have any legal worries about nude sunbathing; however, it isn't allowed in Utah, Indiana or Tennessee. Netherlands – Topless sunbathing is common and allowed in designated areas. Spain – Legal to sunbathe naked or topless and it's a fairly common. I remember when my nephews were younger, I thought nothing of whipping off my top. That was until they looked at me distinctly uncomfortable. It clearly wasn't an auntie thing to do. It got worse when I offered to buy them an ice cream from the kiosk on the next beach, I was told in no uncertain terms to put my top back on. But apart from teenagers, I don't bow to anyone. Why cant I celebrate being 63 and liberated? It shows that I have reached middle age and is not ashamed to show myself semi starkers. Look, I wouldn't play beach tennis bouncing around, swinging breast syndrome is not a good look. Ditto if I am going to sit at the beach bar, then obviously the top goes on. But a saunter along the waters edge, shouldn't shock anyone. To me, my body is not something that has to be put out to pasture just because some people may think it is past its seduce-by date. As I see it, going topless on the beach is about freedom. Freedom to do and wear what you want at any age.
Daily Mail
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Blue Peter legend reveals she was caught sunbathing topless on her balcony by a passing hot air balloon
A Blue Peter legend has recalled how she once accidentally flashed some hot air balloon passengers, while sunbathing topless on her balcony. Valerie Singleton, 88, joined the longest-running children's TV show back in 1962 and serving as a presenter for 10 memorable years, until her exit in 1972. The broadcaster has opened up on a mortifying incident that saw her reveal slightly more of herself than intended. Speaking on BBC Radio Solent, she explained how at her home in Dorset, she had cleverly arranged plants around her so that she could sunbathe topless with privacy. However, while she had hidden herself from view of her neighbours, Valerie explained that she hadn't anticipated being seen from the skies. She recalled: 'I was sitting on my balcony and I had window boxes all around so I could sunbathe topless without all my neighbours seeing me. Then suddenly, quite a long way off, I saw a hot air balloon.' In accordance with her friendly nature, she immediately jumped up to wave to the passengers, momentarily forgetting her state of undress. Valerie admitted being slightly too slow to grab a towel to protect her modesty in time, giving the hot air balloon quite an eyeful. She told listeners: 'Quite without thinking I stood up and waved to it and then the hot air balloon turned to me and dipped its basket to me. 'I was a bit too late to reach a towel. They must have had binoculars because they were quite a long way off.' After her time on Blue Peter, Valerie went on to host the likes of Nationwide, The Money Programme and BBC Radio 4 show PM. She reflected on her time on the beloved TV show in March, writing in The Mail on Sunday about the importance of the programme for children. Valerie penned: 'I've lost count of the people who've told me they had been inspired to pursue their careers – be it designing hats, becoming a painter or an engineer – because of something they had seen on the show. That is the lasting impact of Blue Peter.' She added: 'So yes, I can happily say I loved every moment of my nearly ten years at the helm, and I missed it terribly when I left in 1972. 'But I remain a member of the Blue Peter family. Today, I'm friends with many of the presenters who came after me, from Mark Curry and Tim Vincent (who was actually born as I left) to Janet Ellis, Diane Louise Jordan and Anthea Turner. 'And I kept watching it religiously too, that is until 2012 when the powers-that-be removed it from its long-standing slot just before the six o'clock news and placed it on their dedicated children's channel CBeebies.' During her Blue Peter stint, Valerie presented alongside Christopher Trace, John Noakes, Peter Purves and Lesley Judd. And in 2008, she memorably revealed that she and a then-married Peter had had an affair while on the show. Revealing the illicit tryst, she said she liked 'the pirate type. And men who give me what I call BSE – a big sexual experience.' Valerie explained: 'It was one of those impulsive, enjoyable experiences - but more a friendship thing than anything else. 'Sleeping with people you work with is generally not advisable, so we didn't want to pursue it. 'There was always an unspoken acknowledgement that something rather nice had happened.' Peter, 86, recently opened up on the drunken fling in an interview with The Telegraph last month. He said: 'To be fair it was only one night. And there was never any sexual tension on screen. We've remained great friends. 'Although we also used to fall out all the time. Val was/is extremely high maintenance. She always expected people to do things for her. 'She'd be sitting in the studio writing letters and call an assistant to 'get me an envelope'. Occasionally she would get under my skin. 'We were in Mexico once and we weren't speaking. We only spoke to each other through John, I can't remember why.'
