Hiking - Part 24

 The Naked Rambler

Stephen Gough, at left, is known in England as the Naked Rambler.  In 2003-2004 he walked from Lands End, the extreme southwest corner of England, to John O'Groats, the extreme northeast corner of Scotland.  This is famous as the longest walk that you can do in Britain.

He did the whole walk naked, wearing only socks, boots, a hat, and a backpack.  He's pictured here with his then-girlfriend, Melanie Roberts, setting out from Lands End on a second naked walk in 2005.  As the sign says, it's 874 miles to John O'Groats.

Here he is at the finish line in John O'Groats in 2004.  His girlfriend stayed with him for the 2005 walk, but broke up with him afterwards.

Here he is being interviewed in 2004.  It must be at the start of the walk, because he hadn't grown a beard yet.

Fence?  No problem, but be careful of the barbed wire.

He was arrested multiple times for public indecency or "breach of the peace" and imprisoned, sometimes for long periods.  But after being released, he continued walking naked.  Here he is in 2012 after serving 657 days in prison.  3 days later, he was re-arrested.

At a pre-trial hearing, he appeared at the hearing naked, resulting in his being found in contempt of court.  Here he is, being taken away after the hearing.

He was released from Saughton Prison in Edinburgh on October 5, 2012.  Accompanied by reporters, photographers, and a film crew, he was able to walk the 70 miles, naked, to the English border in 5 days.  Above, he walks through Peebles, Scotland, heading south.

This is a short clip from a longer piece called "Fly on the Wall - the Naked Rambler Documentary" showing him talking to reporters and then washing in a stream in the Cardrona Forest, near Peebles, Scotland.  You can see a photographer taking pictures of him in the stream.

And here's one of the pictures that resulted.

But his troubles were not over.  He refuses to get dressed, even when judges or police tell him to.  Here he is being arrested in 2013 in Southampton, England.

For Gough, it's a matter of principle.  He brought a lawsuit in the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that laws requiring him to wear clothing violated his right to free expression, but his claim was rejected in 2014.