The Naked Rambler

It's minus one...

and there's a freezing fog hanging over the moors.

HE SHIVERS

Even the most prepared walker would think twice

about going out in these conditions.

But this man is doing it completely naked,

apart from a rucksack, boots and socks.

Strong wind coming exactly where I'm heading.

Man versus nature.

Certainly is.

Stephen Gough, aka the Naked Rambler,

has been in the headlines for a decade

and spent the last six-and-a-half years in prison

because he refuses to wear clothes in public.

Now free, he's heading for his mother's house

in Eastleigh in Hampshire -

on foot and naked.

To Eastleigh it's about 440 miles-ish.

He'll discover just what the Great British public

really makes of him.

CHEERING

That does not do any good, in this day and age, for this country.

You have a right to your opinion.

What made an ex-Marine

and devoted father...

He was really supportive when they were little, he was a great dad.

..turn his back on his family

and become one of the UK's most infamous prisoners?

You are under arrest, you are detained.

You need to come with us to the police car.

Will the police and the weather

stop the naked rambler from ever making it home?

This is like climbing Everest.

Worse than that.

In Everest, you expect it.

This programme contains some strong language.

Five in the morning and Stephen Gough is being

released from Edinburgh Prison into the cold October air.

I haven't got a clue where I'm going.

I've got a compass somewhere -

I've got TWO compasses somewhere - don't know where they are.

Um, I can't really guide by the stars, really.

So... I want to head south.

Stephen's spent the last six-and-a-half years

in a prison cell because he insists on the right

to be naked in public.

Right I'm moving. Trying to warm up.

His nudity and his spells in jail have made him a big news story.

Now he's been released, he plans to walk more than 400 miles

to see his family in Eastleigh near Southampton.

Am I going all right for, um... for the Pentland Hills, yeah?

-Yeah, yeah. Totally, yeah.

-Straight up?

-Straight up and straight over again.

-Cheers, thanks.

Walking 15 miles a day,

Stephen hopes to be home in under a month.

This way to go, is it?

His nakedness meant the prison restricted his visitation rights.

He hasn't seen his two teenage children for almost seven years.

I'd love to see how they are, you know.

Last time I saw them, they was down here somewhere.

As a father, what are you going to be thinking?

Maybe very tearful. Probably very tearful.

I was almost tearful then, answering the question.

Probably very tearful.

Where's the prison from here, then?

-You can see it.

-What, the horrible walls?

Just down in the shadow there.

Oh, yeah. Ugly thing, innit?

Stephen's numerous arrests began when he first walked

naked from Lands End to John o'Groats.

But back then, he never spent more than a few months in prison.

Like a Page 3 girl now.

But in 2006, on a plane to Edinburgh,

he took his clothes off mid-flight

and was arrested on arrival.

After seven months in prison, he was released,

but immediately rearrested for being naked.

Ever since, it's been a cycle of release and re-arrest.

To keep him from other prisoners,

he's spent years in solitary confinement.

'You're in a cell, locked up,

'sometimes for 24/7.

'You're only allowed out for maybe half an hour, sometimes.

'If they're feeling generous.'

If you put clothes on, you wouldn't need to be in solitary, would you?

No, but then I'd be giving up on what I think is right.

So, um, that's not something I'm prepared to do

and, er...

no-one has yet convinced me that...

when I've questioned them,

reasons why I should...

No-one has ever given me a good reason why I should dress.

Stephen appears to have chosen prison above being with his family.

15 years ago, he was an attentive father to his children.

Does his ex-partner Alison understand what has happened?

Well he was stubborn, yeah, definitely.

But this is beyond any stubbornness that I ever experienced.

I mean, it is extraordinary, really.

And I think that's probably part of...

I think probably the legal system couldn't believe...

that somebody given the choice -

either you put your clothes on and you're a free man,

or you don't and we lock you up in solitary confinement - would choose

"Oh, solitary confinement for me, please."

I don't think anybody saw that coming.

I've seen him in the papers.

It seems Stephen has a good chance

of making it out of Scotland without arrest.

Well done, good on you.

"Oh, my God, Laura..."

SHE LAUGHS

"..check him out!"

Then the kids all started laughing and saying,

"Where's his clothes? We can see his bottom!"

Well...!

You shouldn't be afraid of, like...

what you are, who you are, you know?

A body's a body, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Bad thing - I guess you might get a bit of frostbite on your balls

in the winter, like, but, you know, hey.

He seems happy. Good on him!

THEY CHEER

Being naked in public isn't technically illegal,

but if someone complains, then it can be a breach of the peace

or, more seriously, outraging public decency.

Many people cheered him on...

CAR HORN BEEPS

..but not everyone.

You're a disgrace, so you are.

-Right, OK.

-A real disgrace.

You've a right to your opinion.

That does not do any good, in this day and age, for this country.

With everything about paedophiles,

Jimmy Savile, everything.

And then he's walking along.

What point is he trying to prove?

He's not proving anything to anyone, apart from himself,

that he's an idiot.

I get knocked down, and get up, get knocked down and get up.

And I think, "Well...

"..nobody understands what this guy's about,

"but he keeps it going," so you then get a bit interested.

-Can I ask you something?

-Yeah.

Why are you walking naked?

-Are you not from round here?

-Is it not cold?

I'm not cold, no.

And why are you not having clothes on, then?

Er, um, good question.

Em, don't know, really.

-Oh.

-It's to make a stand.

Stephen's cause is not always clear,

but it never fails to generate interest and bring him attention.

Press photographers are rarely far away

and he even has followers -

some of whom buy him food and give him money.

One follower, George,

has even designed a board game based on Stephen's life.

This is this game I designed for Stephen Gough -

Naked Rambler Snakes And Ladders.

Throw the dice, where you go,

is that if you land on the bottom of a ladder, you can climb the ladder.

What do you think about what Stephen does?

Yeah, I've still...

I think, erm...

I'd probably have to get back to you on that, at the moment.

He seems to be happy with what he's doing,

and it looks like - I'm not really sure -

it's a cause, or, Stephen himself has said he sees this as a job.

So, he is maybe still searching for something in his life.

What?!

Many people assume Stephen is an extreme naturist

making a stand about the human body.

But he always dresses when he stops walking.

I like wearing clothes, I haven't got a thing about clothes...

..but...I want to be free to wear what I want, yeah?

So I want to get up in the morning and wear what I want to wear.

Some people, like naturists and that, nudists, they heat up

their house especially so they can go naked.

I think that's nuts.

I'm not one of those, I'm...I'm standing for freedom.

The trouble is the cause...

What is it and why is it important?

And I think that's the thing that

I've never really reconciled...myself.

If he was... If Steve was out there campaigning for something

that I thought was really important -

human rights or children's welfare,

then I think, you know, with my blessing, off you go.

But this doesn't make sense to me.

Alison's come to terms with being associated with the Naked Rambler.

Just around the corner from her,

Stephen's mother Nora seems to find it harder to reconcile.

At 86, Nora doesn't want the media exposure

that her son seems to crave, and asked for her face not to be shown.

What is your understanding of why he's doing it?

I DON'T understand it, I'm afraid.

I never have understood why he's doing it.

Do YOU understand it?

You've been with him more than what I have lately.

I don't understand it.

It's something to do with freedom.

Yeah, I know THAT. I know it's something to do with freedom,

but he's not free, is he?

Stuck in jail six years - that's not free, is it?

It seems a useless way of living your life, to me.

Morning, George.

I've got the morning papers for you.

Scotland On Sunday and The Sun.

Bloody hell, I look old there.

53, yeah?

HE LAUGHS

I like that, "Getting undressed to go to work." I like that.

Cos it is, I agree, it's my work, I've finally...

..settled.

that this is not going to end

and then I'm going to get a proper job or settle down.

This IS me settling down and getting a proper job.

I've realised I've been doing it all along.

With the English border only ten miles away,

it's time to get back to work.

HE GROANS

MUSIC: "Over The Hill" by John Martyn

# Nothing in my favour

# Got the wind in my face

# I'm going home

# Hey, hey, hey

# Over the hill

# Over the hill

# Hey, hey, hey

# Over the hill...#

After five days of walking unchallenged,

Stephen's approaching the English border.

Perhaps the country is happy to see the back of the Naked Rambler.

Well, that's it. That's the border.

Cheers, Steve. Just wave again if you can. Arms out.

With 375 miles to go...

What a waste!

..Stephen's on track to get to his mum's house in Eastleigh

by Christmas.

England - and it seems the police here have a different attitude.

Stephen's been arrested, charged with a public order offence

and released within 24 hours.

He was free for just 20 days

before winding up back in a police cell.

There are some benefits, though.

You get arrested, you'll continue,

nothing's going to stop you.

It's given me a chance for my socks to get dried out.

My socks were soaking, and now they're dry.

So that's one good thing.

I got a few...few meals.

-MAN OFF SCREEN:

-That's disgusting!

There's fucking kids around, you dirty bastard.

Have you got any flapjacks, any flapjacks?

Couple of Mars Bars, Snicker?

Do you get many customers like this?

Stephen was only released half an hour ago.

Is this a joke, is it?

-No, no.

-Did you release me?

Release me and arrest me again - I just don't really understand that.

Please, tell me what's going on.

HE LAUGHS

What's your name?

-Stephen Gough.

-Stephen.

Stephen, have you got anything in your bag?

Loads of things in my bag.

We'll need your bag off you.

Stephen has been arrested so many times over the last ten years,

it's reported to have cost the taxpayer

hundreds of thousands of pounds.

-MAN OFF CAMERA:

-Dirty bastard, there's kids around!

Oi! Oi!

Stephen is one of seven children.

His mother Nora doesn't remember him having a problem with authority.

Was Stephen disobedient as a child?

I don't remember him being disobedient particularly, no.

At school?

Well, he never got the cane, which they used to do in those days.

So he was a well-behaved boy?

Well, as far as I know, yeah.

At 16, he left the local comprehensive school

and joined the Marines.

Did he do well in the Marines?

Well, I thought he did.

When he left, he had a good character reference.

This well-behaved child, behaved well at home,

behaved well at school, joined the Marines.

This doesn't sound like the same person as Steve, does it?

It doesn't, does it?

No, that's why it's so amazing that he's doing this,

I just can't understand it, myself.

Steve!

Stephen has been released by West Yorkshire Police

and has headed on to the Pennine Way.

Steve!

Steve!

You haven't seen a naked rambler, have you?

What does he look like?

He's naked! He's got a big beard.

There's a fella pitched up down there with a big beard.

He's pitched his tent up.

Morning.

How are you feeling today?

STEVE LAUGHS

All right, yeah.

It's freezing

and Stephen hasn't eaten in over 24 hours.

I need to get some food and some fuel.

Big food.

Food that...

A loaf of bread type food.

Can YOU see sense in what I'm doing, cos you may not?

You might think...you know?

Um, well...

You may not be able to see it.

I tell you what, when I phoned my mum last night,

she said she thought I liked publicity, right?

And, um...

There's two ways to look at it, right?

Yeah, I like publicity.

But it's not for me, I'm not doing it because I want to be famous.

I'm doing it because of what I'm doing.

I want to... I want to rai...

I want people to know about what I'm doing.

-All right?

-Can I get a picture with you, boss?

-Yeah, sure.

-Good man.

I don't believe this. There's a naked rambler up here.

This is the man.

-Lovely.

-Thank you, boss.

It's fucking freezing.

You're mad in your head!

I'm going that way.

BLEATING

It's a bloody wind tunnel.

You're shivering, Steve.

Yeah, I am, yeah.

I really shouldn't be stopping, really.

-I want to put some clothes on.

-Clothes on?!

It was certainly very different weather in 2005

when Stephen went on his second walk

from Land's End to John o'Groats...

..accompanied by a girlfriend.

So the last time you did the walk, it was in summer.

Yeah, it was, yeah.

Was it very different?

Very, very different, yeah.

Very, very, very, very different.

Why?

Well, summer...

..blue skies. You stop for lunch

and it would be so warm you'd just lie down

on some lovely bit of grass.

Get out your food, lay it out like a little picnic.

Didn't need to put on clothes.

Didn't WANT to put on clothes cos it was warm.

'It was just lovely.'

-'And now?

-Now, it's...'

It's walking in gale-force winds

and getting wet and I was even thinking of a warm police cell.

No?!

Even a police... Getting arrested and getting put in a police cell

is preferable to this.

Stephen is putting himself through incredible hardship

for a cause he sometime finds hard to explain.

He often talks of freedom, but what does he mean by it?

Do you feel you're helping people by doing this?

-In some way?

-Yeah, I do, yeah.

By helping them to confront their false beliefs about who they are.

Along comes someone like me and it challenges them.

Cos if we...consider ourselves as being a democratic and free society

then, well...

..how far does that go?

HE BREAKS WIND

There's a bigger...

HE BREAKS WIND

There's a bigger, bigger thing at stake.

Not sure what it is, but...

You don't have many manners, do you?

Like, you just fart in public, restaurant or whatever, pub.

Well, it's all about asking what is manners, you know?

Manner, manner. Manners is about manner, isn't it?

-Well, it's...

-Go to different societies, it's different.

If you're in the company of people that you feel relaxed

and free with, that word again, freedom with.

But, Steve, is farting in public really about freedom?

Yes, it is about freedom. Yes.

Do you really think that's what freedom is about?

It's not only about farting in pubic,

it's about being able to speak freely.

Freedom of speech.

Yeah, these are things that really matter.

Yeah, well, it's the same.

There's freedom fighters out there fighting for the right to vote,

fighting for the right to be educated

and you are freedom fighting for the right to fart!

You may be making it into a triviality...

but you try, as I have in the past,

bottling up your farts, you'll get a stomach-ache.

Stephen has embarked on a one-man mission

to break down what he sees as society's unreasonable taboos.

If you want to fart, spit, swear or even walk naked in public,

why shouldn't you?

It remains a mystery why an obedient child and successful Marine

chose this quest at the expense of seeing his own children grow up.

Eastleigh is a large but run-of-the-mill town

just outside Southampton.

The place itself had a big impact on Stephen and his siblings,

according to his younger brother Robert.

I think everybody in the family...

..has, like, gone out there

to go and find life, to go and find something.

There's more to life than living in Eastleigh.

I know, when I was young, I wanted to get out of Eastleigh.

I didn't get very far, but...

Yeah, so they probably wanted to see what was going on

in the rest of the world, I suppose.

The central thing for all of the things

that have happened in Steve's life...

is just this profound energy...

..to try and work out what life's about.

My eldest son's a Buddhist.

The second son's Raja Yoga, which is an Indian philosophy.

So your whole family are looking for ways to live their life.

They're looking for something, yeah.

MUSIC: "All My Days" by Alexi Murdoch

On a quest to find out what life is about,

Stephen left the Marines when he was 20 and travelled to Thailand.

There he joined a religious sect - the Moonies.

Obviously I was looking for answers to life

and they said "Here you are.

"Here's all the answers you'll ever need.

"Take that."

And I swallowed it and joined up.

But Stephen and the Moonies parted company after two years.

I went with a couple of prostitutes and in the end they sort of...

They didn't chuck me out, as in kick me out the door.

They said it's best if I left

because I was a bad influence on the youngsters.

So I left in the end.

# And I've been trying to find

# What's been in my mind

# As the days keep turning into night...#

Then he just landed back in the UK and suddenly it was, like,

"Well, what am I going to do now?"

"Who am I? Where am I going?"

He then spent the next few years doing odd jobs in Eastleigh...

..until he met Alison.

Although they've been separated for over ten years,

Alison and Stephen still stay in touch.

I think it's important, but it's important work.

You know, it's important.

We want our kids to, er... And we want to live in a society that's

free and open and tolerant, don't we?

That's what we want.

The couple first met in 1992

and lived together in Eastleigh before starting a family.

Did you fall in love with Stephen?

Yeah.

SHE LAUGHS

-Yes, I did.

-You did?

-Yeah.

We had a period, particularly the fondest memory

I have really of all the time that I knew Steve,

was when we had children.

He was brilliant, you know, even at their birth,

he was really supportive when they were born,

he was supportive when they were little.

He was a great dad.

It can be a bit frustrating

if I forget that I'm bringing up a human being here.

I mean, what could be more important than that?

So it's charming to watch and it makes it all worthwhile, really,

these little moments.

Ultimately I do find this whole...

everything that's happened really very sad.

I think it's sad for the children,

but mostly I think it's sad for Steve.

I think he's missed out on ten years of having a relationship

with his children, and for what?

It doesn't make any sense to me,

and I think ultimately it's very, very sad.

When's the last time you saw your kids?

Six-and-a-half years ago.

It's a long time.

It is a long time, yeah.

It's a time when they've gone from children to young adults, almost.

But, um...

That's what...

That's how life's turned out.

And I don't regret what I've done at all,

even though it means that I've been separated from my children,

cos you've got to follow your passion.

And that, sometimes in life, sometimes that means that

you can't be with your children or be with those you love.

-ALISON:

-At the minute he's supposed to be walking back to Eastleigh

to see his family. But it's freezing cold,

it's pouring with rain, it's windy, but he's doing it naked.

I'm just looking back, trying to make some sense of it.

How did I end up having a relationship with somebody

that would then... if this was going to be the outcome?

How did I not see it coming?

But I really didn't see it coming.

No-one understands what turned Stephen from an attentive,

loving father...

Steve?

..to someone who appears to have turned his back on his children...

for six-and-a-half years.

Stephen has been arrested and released once again.

He's still 140 miles from home.

How are you?

-Fancy meeting you here!

-What's going on?

I don't know!

The authorities have arranged for a taxi to take him away,

and he's left outside the jurisdiction

of West Midlands Police.

The taxi pulls up at a lay-by just off the M5.

OK, cheers.

-It's gone a bit cold, hasn't it, Steve?

-Yep.

It's only one degree.

That's not too cold, is it?

It's ice.

Is it?

News coverage and social media campaigns

mean the Naked Rambler's supporters know when he's out of prison.

Today a man called Augustus has arranged to

go on part of the journey with him.

Why are you here to see Stephen?

Well, because I support his cause.

Do you?

Yeah...

I'm quite fond of walking around naked myself, so...

I think he's a very wise man, actually.

He's fascinating to talk to.

It's unusual in this day and age to find a man

who's got principles and sticks to them, come what may.

Is that your loincloth?

I call it a breechcloth.

So that means it's not illegal?

I believe so. Well, it's not illegal without it.

SONG: "Rambling On My Mind"

# I've got ramblin' on my mind... #

CAR HORN BEEPS

# I've got ramblin'

# I've got ramblin' all on my mind... #

MAN LAUGHS

# Hate to leave you here, babe

# But you treat me so unkind. #

What am I doing that's indecent?

Exposure. Exposure.

Exposing what? What am I exposing that's indecent?

Your genitals.

After only half an hour's walking,

Stephen and Augustus are taken to the local police station.

They're released that evening and Augustus returns home.

So you're a musician?

Yeah, yeah. That's one of my jobs, as it were.

I've been trying to write a song

about the joys of being nude for years,

but nothing ever came of it until this year.

So I think this is the thing.

# Walk on the wild Let it all hang free

# Easy movements, lots of vitamin D

# There are those who think it's not respectable

# Cool breeze tickling testicles

# Feel the sun

# Warming your bum

# It ain't rude to be nude

# It's the natural way

# Go on, dare to be bare

# Just wear the air. #

That's the first version chorus.

That was really good.

Yeah, I'm going to have to record it.

Augustus has his own reasons for being naked in public.

I haven't got a girlfriend,

but if I go out and walk in the nude

and people look at me and especially if they smile or laugh or talk,

'then that pleases me.

'Someone's noticing me, I'm obviously liked'

and it's nice to be liked.

Well, I did have a girlfriend way back.

She dumped me five years ago.

When she dumped me, that was hard, that was...

That was tough.

Cor...

Augustus's relationship seems to have had a big impact on him.

What effect did Stephen's separation from Alison have?

In 2001, the family moved to a communal housing project in Canada,

and it was here Stephen's growing interest in naturism

started to affect their relationship.

Steve first started going naked in Canada.

Swimming in lakes. You know, we'd come across a lake, perhaps

we'd walked for hours to get there and there was no-one else around.

He'll go for a naked swim.

Fine.

But slowly it became more frequent and more public, his nakedness.

Things got more serious when Alison's parents came to visit.

And Alison was getting a bit of a whiff

that I was being more bold, and so she started to ask me,

"Am I going to go naked when her parents come?" That sort of thing.

And I said, "I don't know, I'm trying to be spontaneous.

"And I'm trying to be, not...

"Be natural."

Really sunny morning, I'm eating breakfast

with my parents on this roof garden, which is shared with our neighbours.

And Steve came to join us

at the breakfast table with a bowl of muesli in his hands,

with nothing on.

And I just walked in, just went there naked with a bowl of muesli,

as you do! Lovely day and, um...

In front of her parents?

I think her mum was there.

Alison's mum was there.

The mum didn't... Alison's mum didn't react hardly at all.

Alison, on the other hand, said,

"That's enough!" And stormed off.

You know, I think in most relationships,

that's a pretty reasonable request, when eating a meal with my parents,

could you please keep your pants on, you know...

I said immediately, that's it, my relationship with Steve is over.

I think that he was really...upset that I took that decision.

I think he felt that, as his life partner or whatever, it was my...

Part of what I'd signed up to was to support him in

being who he wanted to be.

So I think he was a bit devastated.

Stephen's quest to find a way of life that made him happy

had taken him from the Marines to the Moonies

and then to family life abroad.

But he wanted something more.

Stephen remembers a long walk in the Canadian woods

where he had what he calls an epiphany.

When I went out for the walk,

it was almost like I expanded...

..and it was good.

Yeah.

So...

So that's really where it sort of came from, really.

That sort of feeling inside,

it obviously changes how you are.

So, um...

Do you think, when he went for that walk in the wood,

it was a critical moment in his life?

Yeah.

Tell me why.

Well, I mean, that was when he started to question

what he was doing and think about

what he wanted to do differently, really.

I mean, that was when he gave himself time to just think.

And, er...

So obviously it broke.

It broke my previous ideas about myself.

So obviously I thought there was a bit of apprehension

about what I was before,

but this was certainty.

So...

Things would never be the same again.

His mission was to share his insight with the world

and tell people about the freedom nakedness represents.

He returned to England,

and in 2003, went on his first walk to John o'Groats.

The Naked Rambler was born.

He tried the Marines, he tried the Moonies,

he tried being a devoted dad, but freedom through nakedness

gave him the purpose he was always looking for.

Certainly there is a pattern.

It almost feels like another project that he's had -

another attempt that he's had to find a situation

that he can be comfortable in.

I think one of the problems perhaps with having a young family

is that it was a little bit anonymous.

I think he also wants to be recognised for

the individual creative thinker that he sees himself as, or something.

All right?

No longer an anonymous father,

Stephen sees himself as a freedom fighter

resisting an unjust world.

It's about freedom, it's about prejudice and...

..intolerance.

It's pushing that back. As we do that within ourselves

and we become freer, and then society does it,

then that socie...soc...

I can't even say it!

That society becomes freer.

You think with discrimination against black people in America

and homosexuality etc, etc,

we should live in a tolerant country, tolerant society.

It's something we want to shine a light on and get rid of.

Morning.

-Afternoon.

-Afternoon.

Many question Stephen's mental health,

but he refuses to be assessed by a psychologist.

As a self-styled freedom fighter,

he seems to put his principles above the feelings of others...

regardless of the consequences.

Carterton, just outside Oxford.

It's 3:20pm.

It seems like school's out time, by the looks of it.

Does that bother you?

Well, people make associations, don't they?

It doesn't bother me. No, I'm not doing nothing wrong.

I've followed my compass down a bridleway

and it's led me into this area at this time,

so that's just the way it is.

Maybe you should get out of here, Steve?

Well, how am I going to? Fly?

Steve, maybe you should go the other way

where the schoolchildren aren't...

No, this is south, I've got to go south.

Steve, we're going to get in trouble here, mate.

CAR HORN BEEPS

I think we should go the other way.

Guy, what are you on about?

What would I go the other way for?

Because you're going to get arrested here.

I'm going south, I'm going home.

I know, but...

Why should I turn around and go north?

Because there's a load of kids coming.

Guy, you're being a bit crazy.

-What?!

-What are you talking about?

You're going to get arrested, mate.

Guy, I'm getting a bit pissed off with what you're doing here, mate.

The perception of Stephen as a harmless eccentric

comes into question in situations like this.

Either he doesn't care

or is oblivious to the impact on these children and their parents.

There are complaints to the police.

Shortbread, I might get one of them.

Do you think they're after YOU, Steve?

Just look the other way and hope they'll go away.

POLICE RADIO CHATTER

Excuse me.

It was funny, but it was also a bit scary

because I didn't, like, know what to expect.

You are under arrest, you are detained,

you need to come with us to the police car

and we'll go further from there.

Disgusting, really.

But obviously I don't know the circumstances of it.

Why's it disgusting?

Just because, outside a school. Obviously, children...

Relax. Bloody hell.

The police are taking this offence more seriously,

and charged with outraging public decency,

Stephen will be sent for trial by jury.

If found guilty, his offence could mean another year in prison.

Christmas is spent in custody awaiting trial.

But after two months,

the charge is suddenly and unexpectedly dropped.

The Naked Rambler is free once again.

Stephen is camping out near Basingstoke.

The weather has taken a turn for the worse.

Steve!

Steve!

-Here.

-Down here, down here.

Oh, my God.

How can anyone camp out in this?!

How are you?

What happened to your tent?

I've just taken it down.

Wow.

So...you're heading off again?

Yeah.

It's only 40 miles to Eastleigh.

Do you regret going past the school?

-No.

-No?

-Course not, no.

It would have been a contradiction if I did.

You're making some sort of point about freedom,

but I'm saying maybe you shouldn't involve children...

Yes, I am! I'm saying it's good to be free.

But I'm saying maybe you shouldn't involve children in that.

You can't help it. That's life.

Why shouldn't children be involved in life?

The goings-on in life.

Home by tomorrow?

Possibly. Have a nice sleep in a proper bed.

See your mum?

See my mum, see my kids, see my friends and family.

Yeah, it'll be great.

After four months, eight arrests

and more than 400 miles of walking through wind, rain and snow,

Stephen finally makes it home.

Seven long years.

Yeah. Well, it's not THAT long, is it, seven years?

The school I used to go to when I was little. That one there.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-It's your old school?

-Yeah.

Is that your mum's house?

Yeah, we're in the block now.

Well, here we are.

I know, shall we not go in, eh?

All right, Mum?

-Hello.

-All right.

-Come in.

I must have fallen asleep.

Can they come in to watch?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Yeah, come on in.

It's a big moment for his mother.

Whether it's the excitement or the press attention,

Nora's now happy to appear on camera.

It's lovely to see you and you look...

Oooh, you make me cold looking at you!

Tabloid journalists turn up for the homecoming

and set up their perfect shot.

Mummy.

SHE LAUGHS

Lovely.

-I'll get some clothes on.

-Yeah.

It must feel funny wearing clothes if you...

-No, when I stop... It's a public thing.

-Oh, right.

-That's the idea.

-Oh, when you stop, you get dressed?

Straightaway, yeah. First thing I do.

God, I'd die otherwise, wouldn't I?

Now he's finally arrived,

no-one seems quite sure what Stephen is going to do next.

So, yeah, he's back.

Yeah, I don't know what he'll do now he's back,

cos he's got quite notorious, hasn't he?

If that's the word.

Do you think he's going to walk round Eastleigh naked?

Well, I hope not!

Alison comes round to see him.

Their children wait outside.

-Hi.

-Hello.

-Come in. Cor, freezing.

SHE LAUGHS

-How are you doing?

-Is it just you?

Yeah, at the moment.

I'm just checking you've got something on. Which indeed you have.

-So that's fantastic.

-I've had stuff on for ages. Think I'd be naked?

-I thought you might.

-On your own?

The children are outside.

Are they? What, checking whether I'm naked or not or something?

-Do they want to come in?

-Yeah, they do.

-Bring them in, then.

Go on then, give them a shout.

Two teenage children

are about to meet their father for the first time

in six-and-a-half years.

Hi, hi, come in. Come in.

I'm your dad, by the way.

The family wanted this moment to be a private one.

Tall as me or what? Hang on.

No, nowhere near. No, sorry.

The next day,

Alison explains how Stephen's meeting with the children went.

Obviously, it wasn't relaxed for the children.

I'm sure it was very odd, they haven't seen him for a long time.

But, yeah, it didn't feel too traumatic or anything.

What did you talk about?

Steve talked a lot about why he's been doing

what he's been doing etc, wanting to...

Wondering if the children have any understanding

of why he's been doing what he's doing

and trying to help them understand perhaps what he's been up to.

STEVE LAUGHS

So I think that's a good picture. That's a brilliant picture, isn't it?

Yeah. Long as they cut it off there and don't show all the legs.

What are you on about legs, Mum?

So meeting them last night,

are there any regrets now about not seeing them for seven years?

No.

-No regrets?

-No.

You didn't look at them and think,

"God, I wish I'd been there when you were growing up"?

No.

Cos that would mean I wish I hadn't done what I did, surely.

I'm glad all that's happened,

there's nothing I regret about my life.

I do.

But, um...I don't look at it from Steve's point of view.

I just wish he'd been around.

You're part of the family,

and I love you,

and I wish you hadn't been away all these years.

So, are you going to be naked when you go out in Eastleigh?

I haven't gone out yet. But, yes, I've got to answer yes to that.

Oh.

I won't like that, no. Definitely.

That's just the way it is,

and I respect her for sticking to her beliefs.

The town needs spicing up a bit.

HE LAUGHS

So, um, you know...

If it does nothing else, it gets people thinking.

What harm can that do?

Yeah. Watch this space, as they say.

SHE SIGHS

Stephen's beginning a new chapter...

It's funny being naked.

..attempting to live a normal life in Eastleigh -

only, naked.

I'm going to the dentist.

I've got a hole in my tooth - I want to get that sorted, obviously.

You're going to the dentist like this?

Yes.

Yes, it's a new dentist, so they're looking for...

I presume they're looking for new clients.

Whether I'm the sort of person they're looking for, I don't know.

They might have a canny head on and think,

"Ooh, a bit of publicity here." Who knows?

Here we go, then.

-Morning.

-Hello.

Do you think Eastleigh will tolerate you being naked?

Well, that's it, isn't it?

We're supposed to be a tolerant, free, broad-minded country.

That's the democratic values that we...are supposed to stand by.

Well, that's got to be tested.

You've tried a lot of things in your life, haven't you?

Is this the one thing that makes you happy, is it?

It's like a calling, isn't it?

It's your true calling, if you like.

And this feels like it.

MUSIC: "Ramblin' Boy"

# May all your ramblin'

# Bring you joy

# Here's to you

# My ramblin' boy

# May all your ramblin'

# Bring you joy... #

I've got a big hole in my tooth where a crown used to be.

And I'd like to get that sorted pretty swiftly, if that's possible?

# And here's to you

# My ramblin' boy

# May all your ramblin'

# Bring you joy

# Here's to you

# My ramblin' boy

# May all your ramblin'

# Bring you joy. #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd