The 75-mile Cumbria Way and the 50-mile Allerdale Ramble are the two premier long-distance walks across the English Lake District. Keeping mainly to the valley bottoms, they are a superb introduction to Britain's most popular walking area and to the pleasures of long-distance walking itself. This illustrated guide, the most comprehensive ever, tells you everything you need to know to make walking these two routes an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Most of the walking is easy, using well-established routes along the valley bottoms. If you're reasonably fit you should comfortably complete one of the walks during a week's holiday, and still have time for a day out to climb a mountain or explore a Lakeland town too. Each route can be split up into short walks to be enjoyed at different times, but by far the best way is to tackle them as a continuous day-after-day series of delights. That way the body and mind become more attuned to the sights and sounds of the countryside and you will feel all the better for it.