Meet Steve Gough... All Of Him

You'll recognise Steve Gough if you see him.

He's 44 years old, broad-chested, bit of a beard on him now. But then he's been walking for months across England to Scotland, doing the classic cross-country trek - 1,000 miles and more – from Lands End in Cornwall down in the far south west, to John O'Groats in Scotland, way up there.

Steve used to be in the army. You might recognise him from his boots, or the Australian wide-brimmed bushman's hat, or the heavy rucksack strapped to his back. You might give him a wave if you see him. On the other hand you might call the police.

The police have so far detained Mr Gough eighteen times on his long walk. They arrested him in St Ives and then Newquay, both in Cornwall. Then he got as far as Wellington in Somerset, before the blue lights started flashing again. He's been locked up in Buxton, Wales, Northumberland, Selkirk, North Yorkshire. One police force called in two psychiatrists to check him over. But he was pronounced officially sane and allowed to continue the journey. Steve Gough is not violent, or abusive.

He hasn't trespassed over private land. He doesn't disrupt traffic on the roads. He is unfailingly polite to people he meets. He's kind to animals. He doesn't drop litter. He hasn't stolen anything.

He's got one single ideological hang-up, which has made him vulnerable to arrest ever since he started walking in late June……and vulnerable now to the cold autumn weather. Because apart from the hat and the boots, Mr Gough has been attempting to walk the length of this funny island of ours without any clothes. None at all. Completely naked. Brrrrr.
By Ed Boyle