THE STUNNING Lake District scenery and Cumbria’s famous beers are a dream combination.

And they are now being celebrated together thanks to a new long distance walking trail which is being charted by enterprising couple Beth and Steve Pipe.

They are embarking on a 138 mile hike around the county carrying an empty beer cask, and during their trek, they plan to visit as many breweries and microbreweries as possible as well as raising funds for the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association.

The couple will be charting their exploits in a book called ‘Brewers Loop,’ which they hope will repeat the success of their previous volume ‘Gin, Cake and Rucksacks,’ which details all the distilleries in the region and has been shortlisted for Lakeland Book of the Year Award.

Their route kicks off at The Bay Horse in Ulverston this Sunday, June 23, and will see them hike to Newby Bridge, canoe along Windermere to Bowness, then bike northwards before hiking over Loughrigg , swimming along Rydal Water and hiking over Helvellyn, all with the empty beer cask in tow.

“After Gin, Cake and Rucksacks was such a success we felt we needed to raise the bar and breweries were the next obvious choice,” said Mrs Pipe.

“And raising funds for LDSAMRA is important to us because, however careful we are, we never know when we might need their services.”

“Some people have suggested this will test the marriage but we’re both really looking forward to it.

“We survived living in a camper van for three months when we first moved up here, so this should be a piece of cake.

“This story really isn’t just about us, or even just about beer, it’s about all the amazing people who make this county tick although, let’s face it, the beer is a definite perk.”

The duo will share their exploits via their Cumbrian Rambler pages on social media and through their Cumbrian Rambler blog.

They will collect donations for LDSAMRA via an online Just Giving page as well as carrying a collecting tin with them on their hike.

Brewers Loop will be published by Carnegie Publishing and will be available Spring 2020, with 10 per cent of the profits also going to Mountain Rescue.