A new book by a Cumbrian author celebrates the routes walked by postmen and women in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Postal Paths by Alan Cleaver details the routes taken by rural post workers to deliver letters to some of the country's most remote cottages and farmhouses, long before all deliveries were made by van.
It covers the whole country but takes a close look at the routes in Shap, Glenridding, Ambleside, and Eskdale.
Mr Cleaver said: "These postmen and women were walking up to 20 miles a day, six days a week in all weathers.
"The rough terrain they were walking often meant using a bike was out of the question."
He also takes a look at the lives of those who walked the routes.
One of those is former Ambleside postwoman Jean Brennand.
Mr Cleaver said: "She was recruited during World War II when many men had gone off to war.
"Her apprenticeship — before she was allowed to handle letters — was delivering telegrams but this was wartime so Jean sadly found herself delivering news of a soldier's death to families she knew in and around Ambleside."
Her route took her to the Kirkstone Inn where she was always treated to coffee and pastries by the landlady before making her return trip.
The Postal Paths, published by Monoray, is £22 from bookshops.
Mr Cleaver will be talking about the book on Saturday, May 17, at 2pm at Kendal Library.