As someone who is relatively new to the area, and trying to find as many good but not-quite-Scafell-Pike walks to do, this week’s book was the perfect gift for me when it landed on my desk – and the gorgeous pictures would have made up for it even if it wasn’t.

Beth and Steve Pipe, avid walkers and general Cumbrian history and geology enthusiasts, took the liberty of writing down their ambles and meanders around this lovely county in their latest book, The Old Ways of Cumbria: History and Landscape, and I’m so glad they did.

Firstly, it’s a really easy text to follow. With other walking books I’ve come across, they’re usually really helpful in providing the route, the directions you need to be facing at certain points, what equipment you need, etc., which is great if you understand what they’re on about. But for me, considering I can’t use a compass or read a map to save my life (literally), simple and straightforward details of walks are so much nicer and easier to follow.

Secondly, the snippets of history and sprinkles of ghost stories throughout the 10 walking routes were so interesting, and just short enough to not give me nightmares or sleepless nights, which is always fabulous.

The nuggets of information the couple chose to write about were also great because they were genuinely intriguing, and I’ve now got plenty of walks added to my to-do list because of the facts Beth and Steve put in their book.

For example, the two churches in Martindale – the ‘new’ church of St Peter, and the ‘old’ church of St Martin of Tours – should definitely be expecting a visit from me sometime soon, as well as Boredale Valley. The couple note that “if you’re quiet and don’t have a dog with you” – and as I couldn’t steal my parents’ dog when I left home, I sadly don’t – there’s a high chance of spotting red deer dotted about Boredale, which would be amazing to see.

Thirdly, and as I previously mentioned, the pictures are stunning, and were all taken by the Pipes. My particular favourites are of the various churches and sheep encountered during the routes, but I promise that there are more topics covered by the authors than just old religious buildings and animals!

If I’ve painted this book as a full traveller’s guide to walking routes of Cumbria, then I’m sorry to disappoint. Each route is briefly described, and although you probably could follow the walks quite easily based on the directions given, the main focus of the description is really the history of each area explored by the couple.

They have clearly travelled all over Cumbria, with routes including ‘Roman Road’ (Parts One, Penrith to Ambleside, and Two, Ambleside to Ravenglass), ‘Haweswater to Shap – Old Corpse Road’, and ‘Martindale and Patterdale’, and all of them sound like a good day’s walk.

The biggest selling point of this book is definitely the accessibility of the content; you don’t have to be an experienced hiker to understand what’s going on, but even those who have wandered all over Cumbria would still be interested, thanks to the huge amount of information packed into the 96-page-long book (after checking how many pages the book has, I’m honestly shocked – I’ve learnt more from this short text than I did in three years of high school geography and history combined).

In short: if you’re a fan of stunning pictures, Cumbria’s brilliant history, and walking around lesser known areas, pick this book up and give it a whirl.