The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
New ‘Naked Rambler’: Property boss in court for hiking in the nude
Man, 56, developed his pastime of naturism in Yugoslavia three decades ago
A new ‘Naked Rambler’ was revealed yesterday to be a wealthy property developer whose luxury homes firm is based in the shadow of a hill range he roamed in the nude.
Paul Edney, 56, is known to clients as group managing director of Dollarbased “bespoke home builders” Hillfoot Homes, which develops and markets properties around the Ochil Hills.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard the respectable businessman had picked up a “pastime” of naturism 30 years ago in Yugoslavia.
More recently, police began to receive a series of complaints from people out walking in the Ochils that they had seen a nude man on the trails.
The court heard that all the incidents took place near the summit of 1,371-foot Dumyat Hill, which towers above the national Wallace Monument and Stirling University and is part of the Ochils range.
Graham McLachlan, prosecuting, said that in June 2015, a holidaymaker was “sitting sunbathing” on the hill when she was alarmed to see Edney hiking towards her stark naked.
He said: “She noticed this male was completely naked apart from a blue baseball cap, a pair of dark boots and a blue rucksack.”
The woman took a photograph of Edney with her mobile, and forwarded it to police.
Then, on May 9 last year another woman saw Edney approaching her on a hill path. Mr McLachlan said: “She drew closer to the male, and she asked him if he was naked. He said that he was.
“He apologised to her if he had caused any offence.”
The woman phoned police and officers scoured the area without success.
Three months later, after another incident, Edney was found in a popular hillwalker’s car park with his trousers down.
Mr McLachlan said that about 2pm on August 29 three walkers – two men and a woman – were on the path to Dumyat when they saw a man coming towards them, again completely naked apart from a rucksack, cap and walking boots.
They contacted police, who found Edney in the car park after his ramble, “clearly naked from the waist down and pulling on some trousers”.
He said he was a naturist, and had taken his shorts off in the course of his walk.
Edney, of Hillfoot Farm, Dollar, Clackmannanshire, pleaded guilty to three charges of recklessly committing public indecency, causing alarm and annoyance.
Sheriff David Mackie ruled there was “no significant sexual element”, and Edney was admonished and not placed on the sex offenders register.
The original Naked Rambler, former Royal Marine Stephen Gough, walked naked from Land’s End to John o’ Groats.
He has spent a total of nine years in prison for his refusal to cover up.