Great Mell Fell
The views from this diminutive fell far exceed one's expectations. To the north west an uninterrupted view of Blencathra appears only once you reach the summit. Until then the views are south towards Ullswater and the Helvellyn range, over your right shoulder a fine view of Little Mell Fell.
The lower slopes are clothed in bracken with a mix of oak, larch and Scots pine. Higher up the trees struggle to survive, the wind often blowing them over, the lucky ones take on weird shapes. Bracken makes way for tussocky grass. The ground is moist, boggy in places, mosses a bit of a give away that there is water lurking not far below.
Between the fell and Troutbeck is a disused rifle range. It was operating during the war years and at least into the 1950's. The War Department, now Ministry of Defence, didn't like people on the fell and restricted access. Now the fell is owned by the National Trust who refer to it simply as "Mell Fell".
The summit Tumulus - a burial mound, is thought to date from the Bronze age around 2400 to 1500 BC.
Here we offer you the straight forward out and back route. Exploration is encouraged, but best left to the vagaries of the moment.
Parking is at the end of the rough lane, a small muddy pull-in barely off the road can cope with 3 well placed cars.
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Great Mell Fell
Wind Blown Trees on Great Mell Fell
This walk takes you to the top of the following hills: Great Mell Fell; and includes 1 Wainwright, 1 Birkett, 1 Marilyn, 1 Dodd, 1 Dewey, and 1 HuMP.
- Maps:
50K: 90
25K: OL5
- Start:
- NY407246 (get directions via Google Maps)
- Near to:
- Ambleside, Glenridding/Patterdale, Penrith, Ullswater
- Tags:
- Birketts, Marilyns, Wainwrights
- Distance:
- 3.5km (2.2 miles)
- Ascent:
- 270m
- Min. time:
- 1 hrs 9 mins
- View in 3-D:
-
- Terrain:
- 2 - rough
- Bog Factor:
- 3 - wet/boggy
- Tech Diff:
- 1 - easy
- Dog issues:
- Whilst the ground is boggy this route does not pass open water. Routing Gill is the best bet for water.
Purchases:
Buy walk in Adobe/PDF format to print or for your phone or tablet
Buy route for your GPS
Walk height profile
note that gradients are usually grossly exaggerated
Route Description
From the roadside parking place, follow the muddy rough track past the first gate into the woodland with the National Trust sign declaring this to be Mell Fell. Go through the second gate, or over the stile alongside, a little further on. Bear left onto the path climbing alongside the fence.
Great Mell Fell Access Track
The "Second Gate" onto Great Mell Fell
In a little over 200m (220 yards) as the woodland starts to thin a little, fork right onto the path climbing the fell side. Initially on grass through bracken the path meanders around the edge of the trees. Over your right shoulder is Little Mell Fell, and over your left is the Helvellyn range.
Path on to Great Mell Fell
Little Mell Fell
Continue on the clear path, bearing left to climb along the wide ridge to the summit cairn and tumulus. In front of you is Blencathra and Bannerdale Crags.
Wind Blown Trees on Great Mell Fell
Great Mell Fell Summit with Blencathra behind
The return is largely retracing your steps. A lazy afternoon could be whiled away exploring the woodlands on the eastern slopes. Eventually you would be collected by the fence that surrounds the fell, and the path back to the first gate.
Wind Blown Trees on Great Mell Fell
If you like this walk then why not try one of our other nearby walks:
| Name | Rating | Starts |
|---|---|---|
| Little Mell Fell | | 2.0km (1.2 miles) away |
| A short walk to Hart Side from Park Brow | | 4.3km (2.7 miles) away |
| Aira Force and Gowbarrow Fell | | 4.6km (2.9 miles) away |
Unless otherwise stated the text in this walk is the copyright of Hug Solutions Ltd trading as The Hug and the photographs are the copyright of Elizabeth Oldham. Hill data is derived from Database of British and Irish hills which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Maps contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2011 and paths © OpenStreetMap Contributors,CC-BY-SA, 2011