It's the star of the show in any fry-up, the best accompaniment to mash and goes perfectly in a Yorkshire pudding, and those are just a few of the ways you can enjoy one of Britain's most iconic foods - the sausage.

Monday is the beginning of British Sausage Week with dozens of ways to enjoy this traditional culinary treat being promoted.

Cumbria is home to the world-renowned Cumberland sausage and there is a wide range of top quality sausage in the South Lakes.

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Two in particular reside in Barrow and Ulverston. NC Meats, is located on Dalton Road in Barrow and is a firm favourite with countless Furness families, while Irvings butchers in Market Street, Ulverston, has many regulars who pop in every day to get their meat for their tea.

Both butchers are masters in the art of sausage making and prepare their sausage mix and casings freshly in the shop.

Neil Charnley, 43, is the proprietor of NC Meats. He said: "Sausage is always a best-seller, it's a classic.

"We are all geared up for British Sausage Week, we've introduced quite a few limited edition sausage flavours.

"I think the most popular ones will be the Cumberland sausage smokies, which is sausage stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon and smothered in Argentina fire sauce. We also have cracked black pepper sausage, piri-piri sausage and smokey dogs, which are also just in time for Bonfire Night!"

Mr Charnley always likes to buy his meat locally and his sausage meat comes from Todds, near Kendal.

He is always willing to experiment with new recipes and has recently worked with Les McCleese and the Barrow branch of the Leonard Cheshire Disability Youth Group. Mr Charnley said: "We recently made some Brazilian themed sausages with the kids from the Leonard Cheshire group. They were holding a special Brazilian party night in honour of the Rio Paralympics.

"We are always happy to help if somebody comes to us with a recipe request. We even do chilli chicken sausage, which is super low fat for people who are watching their weight."

For Ulverstonians, great meat is synonymous with the name Irvings, which has been a family-run butchers for almost 40 years.

Irvings are great supporters of local farmers and are always looking for new flavours to add to their meat.

Both butchers use natural sausage casings, and not synthetic ones.

Director John Turner, 63, said: "Our sausages are made from Gloucester old spot pigs and saddleback pigs. They are both rare breed pigs and by using their meat we support the farms to keep their breeds alive.

"Over the course of British Sausage Week 2016 we will be selling about a dozen different varieties of sausage, including a hog roast flavour with apple sauce and all the trimmings!"

Irvings Cumberland sausage is famous and has won awards for its superb flavour. Mr Turner said: "The Cumberland sausage is all made from local pigs and I use an original recipe that was written by my parents.

"I think my ideal sausage meal would be the Gloucester old spot sausage along with some traditional, home-cooked chips. If you fancy something a bit different we will also be making some venison sausage sourced from a local game dealer."

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