Stephen Peter Gough (born 13 May 1959),[1] popularly known as the "Naked Rambler", is a British pro-nudity activist and former Royal Marine.
Since then, he has spent most of the intervening years in prison, having been repeatedly rearrested for contempt of court for public nudity and imprisoned.
[4] Gough, an ex-lorry driver and former Royal Marine, is from Eastleigh, Hampshire, and is known for walking the length of Great Britain from Land's End to John o' Groats over 2003 and 2004 wearing only boots, socks, a rucksack and a hat.
[6][7] His second Land's End to John o' Groats ramble was in 2005 and 2006[5] and accompanied by his girlfriend Melanie Roberts (born 1971 or 1972).
The Guardian newspaper congratulated the couple on completing their journey, stating that they were practising gymnosophy in the tradition of people such as George Bernard Shaw.
[13] On 9 April 2007, Gough was cleared of charges related to his refusal to dress upon being released into Saughton Prison car park in Edinburgh.
"[14] In November 2007, Gough lost his appeal against contempt of court convictions for refusing to wear clothes during his 2005 trial and had another 3 months added to his sentence.
On 14 November, he was cleared of that offence on the grounds of insufficient evidence, but appeared in the dock naked and was rearrested in the foyer of Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Sheriff MacFarlane was told that the bill for dealing with Gough had cost the public an estimated several hundred thousand pounds.
The court heard how Gough had finished a previous jail term at Perth Prison and was released to enjoy freedom for the first time in several months.
[21] On 25 November 2010, he was found guilty of conducting himself in a disorderly manner, standing naked at the gates of Perth Prison, refusing to wear any clothing or otherwise cover his genitals and committing a breach of the peace.
He had refused to allow social workers to assess his mental health[26] after he broke down in court during an appearance on 23 August.
Released on bail, he continued to walk south and was due back in Court on 5 February 2013 to face public order charges.
[29][30][31] On 19 June 2013, Gough was imprisoned for 11 months for breaching an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) on 28 February minutes after it was granted, having recently returned home.
[37] In April 2016, Gough asserted that he had cut back on his public nudity because he was responsible for caring for his then 89-year-old mother Nora, who had dementia.
Set against the backdrop of a remote community eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Rambler for its own reasons, Who Bares Wins explores society's wide range of attitudes to nudity.
[38] The play, starring Ron Emslie and Alyth McCormack, toured Scotland and was seen by Gough himself, without clothes on, at The Universal Hall, Findhorn, in 2004.