THE Hairy Bikers have come to Cumbria for a brand new adventure centred around the iconic history of Lake District pubs.

Si King and Dave Myers stayed at the Wasdale Head Inn, at the foot of Scafell Pike and Great Gable, before going on to enjoy some 18th Century tourist activities.

The lovable duo were accompanied by Professors Sally Bushell and Simon Bainbridge, from the Wordsworth Centre at Lancaster University.

The group walked towards Scafell and the experts explained that it was a key location in the early history of mountaineering - it is where the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge made a pioneering descent from the summit via the hazardous route of Broad Stand.

Meanwhile, Professor Bushell took the more leisurely route alongside Wastwater where she outlined the merits of a picturesque experience of the landscape and advised Dave while he sketched the scene.

"It was a great pleasure working with Dave and Si," said Professor Bushell.

"The Hairy Bikers bring earlier historical ways of responding to the Lake District alive again in the present."

Professor Bainbridge added: "At the Wordsworth Centre we are interested in researching all kinds of Lake District writing about the landscape. It was fantastic to be able to share this knowledge with Si and Dave and to make it accessible to the public."

With their customary warmth, charm and humour, Si and Dave are visiting villages, towns and cities across Britain to meet passionate local experts, landlords and locals determined to keep alive the pubs, inns and taverns which have been at the heart of our communities for years.

Dave Myers, who hails from Barrow, said: "Over fifteen episodes we examine the rich history and tradition of watering holes dating from the English Civil War to the Liverpool 'Mersey Beat' generation, the body-snatching Edinburgh pubs of Burke and Hare to the miners’ pubs of South Wales - and we’ve met some brilliant, eccentric and fascinating people along the way."

‘The Pubs that Built Britain’ starts on Monday, April 18, at 6.30pm on BBC Two and the episode featuring the Lake District will air on Tuesday, April 19.