Is Nude Hiking Legal in the United Kingdom?

Following a Newbury Today UK website reporter's assertion that nude hiking was illegal in the UK, in an article entitled "The Naked Truth about Nude Hiking" a flurry of comments have been lobbed that point out that nude hiking is not illegal in the United Kingdom.

“If you refer to s66 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, you will see that there is a considerable burden of proof of ‘mens rea’ on the prosecution to obtain a conviction, i.e. the clear intention has to be to cause shock and alarm to the victim."

“Passive, non-sexual nudity has been legal in England and Wales since the 2003 Sexual Offences Act came into force, and your ill-informed statement is typically ignorant."

“Every year, thousands of naked people participate in protest bike rides around the country (this year’s events will take place next weekend) and the police often provide enabling traffic management services. There have never been any arrests during these rides because passive non-sexual nudity is NOT illegal."

“For your information, Steven Gough was imprisoned initially for contempt of court, not for naked rambling, but it’s a long complicated situation and the law is different in Scotland.”