To feel weird that my parents took me to naturist campsites.

Agree, there are various layers to this and some of your discomfort is likely to be as you grew up and learned this is not a norm in our culture, rather than the practice of naturism being inherently untoward.

However, there was a famous study on a beach (in the 70s/80s?) where the number of convicted sex offenders present while children were naked on the beach, was concerning and it changed our cultural attitudes towards public nudity for children - I believe. Don’t know all the details.

Jesus I had imagined these places were adults only. The fact people make a choice to take their kids to a place where adults parade around naked is disturbing to me.

This exactly.

I think these questions are complex and very culturally specific. In the UK people tend to have a more conservative approach to nudity compared to, for example, Germany or Scandinavian countries where it is much more accepted (for all ages) in leisure situations. Whether or not there are more child safeguarding issues in those places because of that is something I have no idea about.
If your parents were in naturist communities then it would seem normal to them (and you) to have you all naked together.

I think there was a big naturist trend that was at its peak in the 70s. We never knew any when I was growing up, but there was a naturist resort near where our family friends lived. I think you need to step back from modern perceptions and the attitudes of your friends. If it felt normal at the time, that is all the evidence you need to know that it wasn’t weird or concerning. Niche, certainly, but that doesn’t make it wrong.

We ended up on a nudist beach after a boat trip in Minorca. We didn't know and had our swimwear on, but seeing a naked man walking out of the sea with his junk bobbing on the water, or watching a naked couple playing badminton on the beach put me off for life.

This is how I would view it. Even if there was nothing untoward, the adults are making the choice to be naked, not the child.

Such decisions would be viewed differently now that we understand much more about consent in many different situations.

It’s is unsettling because you couldn’t consent to it.

We went to naturist resorts in the south of France with family friends for years. Never saw anything odd about it TBH.

I'm extremely grateful that I've been brought up with a much more laid back "these are bodies, they come in all shapes and sizes, everyone has one, no big deal" attitude. I'm very comfortable in my own skin, and it's an excellent practical way to counter the media narrative of the idealised view of what people "should" look like, which is so damaging to many people's mental health, especially teens.

It's really not a predator's paradise - in fact my experience is the opposite - naturism is non sexual nudity, and because it's so normalised, it absolutely doesn't have the sexual charge that nakedness usually does in a mostly clothed society.

The odd "odd" person hiding behind the sand dunes to ogle - well, they got moved on sharply by the majority as soon as they were noticed - it was very healthily self-monitored to minimise any dubious types, and, I would stress, the dubious types were not themselves naturists, but "normals" who specifically came to perve, so I rather feel the problem isn't in the people with the slightly alternative lifestyle, but with the people who have non-consensual interests in the first place.

Not really.

Bottom line. It’s a predators paradise, isn’t it?

I’m not a prude but children should be safeguarded. I don’t believe it does anyone good being naked and exposed to relative strangers - neighbours and friends of friends, throughout their entire childhood. Nor do I believe it’s in any child’s best interests to have regular view of these non-relative grown adults full mince n’ tatties glowing in the sun.

Call me crazy.

In a lot of my childhood pictures I was wearing a shell suit which is probably more weird.

I wonder what the appeal of it is. There's a naturist club near where I live and on the website there's a photo of a young woman walking between her parents. I don't see the appeal.

Just to advise caution to anyone contributing to this thread, as though it may be completely legitimate, it's never wise to give too much of oneself on threads such as these.

Are your parents alive, and are you able to ask them about it?

If you have asked them about it @100dalmations , what did they say?