The Rime of the Naked Rambler

Ex Royal marine Stephen Gough is a man on a mission; the mission being to ramble across this nation of ours wearing nothing but a smile on his face… oh and boots (he is not stupid, obviously).

The problem he faces is is that he has run afoul of the Scottish legal system (which is different to that in force in England and Wales, a holdover from the 1707 Act of Union) and has spent the last five years almost continuously in prison.


According to the Independent he has been jailed again, this time for almost 22 months.

Gough insists it is his human right to eschew clothing but the forces of law and order have deemed otherwise and he has been in jail almost continuously since May 2006.

His latest prison sentence of 657 days, his longest yet, was imposed after he walked naked out of Perth prison and enjoyed less than 60 seconds of freedom before waiting police arrested him for a breach of the peace.

The sentence comprises a year for breaching the peace, 90 days for contempt of court and the unserved portion of the 21-month sentence that he was released from early on 20 July.

His conviction for contempt of court came after he refused to wear clothes in the dock at Perth Sheriff Court during his trial. The hearing was delayed while court staff fetched a piece of paper for the naked defendant to sit on "for hygiene reasons".

Sheriff Michael Fletcher told him: "The court expects people to come here in a decent state of dress. That has been explained to you in the past. I gave you the opportunity to dress yourself."
Mr Gough said: "What I am doing is based on my belief about what I am and what I am is not indecent. Ordinary people have prejudices and intolerances." His defence, however, was rejected, as it has been at a succession of hearing over the last decade.

He came to public attention when he hiked from Lands End to John O'Groats naked apart from socks, boots, hat and rucksack. The 900-mile walk was intended to focus attention on public attitudes to nudity. It ended in January 2004 but, being punctuated by several arrests and two jail terms, it took him seven months to complete.

In 2005, while hiking across the Cairngorms with a companion as part of his 'Freedom to be Yourself' campaign, he told The Independent: "People talk about a healthy self-image and that it is important to be comfortable with your own body. We are challenging people to think about how they really feel about their own bodies."

Gah what an utter waste of time and money. While I think Gough could devote his time to other and far better causes, the actions of the Scottish police and judicial system are ridiculous. In effect Gough could spend the rest of his life in prison simply for not wearing cloths. There is no indication that he does anything offensive while naked (except being naked, if that offends).

I get the feeling that the Scottish police and courts system have better things to deal with…