Great Mell Fell
Great Mell Fell at 537m (1,762ft) is an isolated, conical summit above the Vale of Matterdale, its distinctive shape standing out from the surrounding farmland.
Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast
Modelled guidance for the 537 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 16° to 14°C, gusts to 31 mph, 1.1 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 537 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
About the walk
Great Mell Fell
Routes up Great Mell Fell
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Map & nearby Birketts
Skip mapFree mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Great Mell Fell layby, about 0.9 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
Birketts near Great Mell Fell (within 3 km)
No bonus Birketts within 3 km — every Birkett near here is already a Wainwright summit, so just enjoy the walk.
Routes over Great Mell Fell
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass.
The View from Great Mell Fell
A computed 360° skyline — every visible named top labelled by distance and bearing, from the terrain model in perfect clarity, not photographed. Drag to pan; reveal the far four-nations horizon.
What you can see from Great Mell Fell, by direction
- South-east: Red Crag (12 km), High Raise (13 km), Low Raise (13 km)
- South: Birkhouse Moor (10 km), Gavel Pike (12 km), St Sunday Crag (12 km), Dollywaggon Pike (13 km), Rampsgill Head (13 km), Kidsty Pike (14 km), Fairfield (14 km), High Street (15 km), Dove Crag (15 km), Caudale Moor (15 km), Stony Cove Pike (16 km), Thornthwaite Crag (16 km), Red Screes (17 km)
- South-west: Hart Side (7 km), Clough Head (7 km), Great Dodd (7 km), Green Side (8 km), Stybarrow Dodd (8 km), Raise (10 km), Catstye Cam (11 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (12 km), Helvellyn (12 km), Nethermost Pike (12 km), High Crag (13 km), Pillar (26 km)
- West: Blencathra (8 km), Atkinson Pike (8 km), Knowe Crags (9 km), Grisedale Pike (20 km), Sail (20 km), Hobcarton Crag (21 km), Crag Hill (21 km), Eel Crag (21 km), Sand Hill (21 km), Hopegill Head (21 km), Wandope (22 km), Grasmoor (23 km)
On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Broad Law (101 km, Scotland), The Cheviot (108 km, England), Tinto (118 km, Scotland), Green Lowther (100 km, Scotland), White Coomb (93 km, Scotland), Queensberry (85 km, Scotland), Ettrick Pen (85 km, Scotland), Wisp Hill (74 km, Scotland).
Computed from terrain in perfect clarity, not photographed · distances are straight-line.
Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills (opens in new tab) (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.
What you can see from Great Mell Fell
On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.- Great Dun Fell North Pennines
- Cross Fell North Pennines
All 68 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)
Little Mell Fell, Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit), Souther Fell, Hallin Fell, Hart Side, Clough Head, Bannerdale Crags, Great Dodd, Blencathra - Hallsfell Top, Sheffield Pike, Bonscale Pike, Arthur's Pike, Glenridding Dodd, Bowscale Fell, Stybarrow Dodd, Place Fell, Steel Knotts (Pikeawassa - Steel Knotts), Beda Fell (Beda Head), Loadpot Hill, Raise, Carrock Fell, Birkhouse Moor, Wether Hill, Arnison Crag, Catstye Cam, The Nab, Birks, Helvellyn, Latrigg, St Sunday Crag, Rest Dodd, Nethermost Pike, High Pike (Caldbeck), High Raise (High Street), Dollywaggon Pike, Rampsgill Head, The Knott (High Street), Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How), Kidsty Pike, Gray Crag, Fairfield, High Hartsop Dodd, High Street, Dove Crag, Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top), Stony Cove Pike (Caudale Moor), Thornthwaite Crag, Middle Dodd, Red Screes, Barrow, Barf, Causey Pike, Outerside, Lord's Seat, Scar Crags, Ard Crags, Grisedale Pike, Broom Fell, Sail, Whinlatter (Brown How - Whinlatter), Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Knott Rigg, Hopegill Head, Wandope, Whiteless Pike, Grasmoor, Pillar, Great Borne
How Great Mell Fell’s view compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.
Sightlines from a bare-earth terrain model (forests and buildings not included), corrected for the Earth’s curvature and average atmospheric refraction. “Distant” sightlines and any over 100 km depend on exceptionally clear air. Modelled from Copernicus GLO-30 open elevation data — a guide to the view, not a guarantee of any single one.
Best parking to hike Great Mell Fell
Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).
Positions are approximate — zoom the map to confirm. Lakeland car parks fill before 9am on fine weekends.
Tip: pan and zoom the interactive map at the top of this page to spot other potential parking near your route.
Buses to Great Mell Fell from Penrith / Ambleside / Windermere
No regular bus serves the start points for this fell — this is one for the car (or a long approach from the nearest served valley). The nearest hubs are Penrith (X4/X5 & 508), Ambleside and Windermere (555, 505, 516).
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
My hikes over Great Mell Fell (Strava)
1 logged hike pass over this summit:
- Had some left in the tank, so did Great Mell Fell as well but could see there there was glorious sunshine on the Fells I just came off 😭 (opens in new tab) — 3.5 km · 274 m ascent · 55 min moving · 20 Aug 2023
Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.
Navigating Great Mell Fell in cloud
StraightforwardA broad, gently-sloping top with little to steer by — easy to lose your bearings and hard to relocate in mist. Navigation here is relatively straightforward even in cloud — but carry map and compass and know how to use them; a low score never means “safe”.
In winter — snow, whiteout, cornices, buried features — every top demands full winter navigation skills whatever its band, and a broad, gentle summit can be the worst place of all. See walking in bad weather and the navigation guide.
How Great Mell Fell compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.
Frequently asked questions about Great Mell Fell
How do you climb Great Mell Fell?
From the lay-by on the lane along its western foot: a clear path circles into the National Trust woodland, then climbs steadily to the open 537 m (1,762 ft) dome. Our walked loop is about 3.5 km — roughly an hour up and down — with the famous wind-bent pines near the top marking the way.
How long does Great Mell Fell take?
About an hour up and down at a steady pace; add a little to wander the summit. Most baggers pair it with Little Mell Fell across the lanes — both in a relaxed half day.
What makes Great Mell Fell distinctive?
Its shape and its solitude: a perfectly rounded, isolated cone standing apart from every other fell, so the summit feels like a viewing platform for the whole north-eastern district — Blencathra one way, the Dodds and Ullswater the other. The wind-sculpted trees on its flanks are a favourite of photographers, and the fell is National Trust land.
Is Great Mell Fell dog friendly?
Mostly — our route survey found gates with the odd stile, so a dog may need one lift. It's grazed, so leads on; the woodland fringe has roe deer too.
Questions drawn from real Google “People also ask” searches; answers written and fact-checked by us. · Reviewed 2026-07-20 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)
Other fells near Great Mell Fell
- Arnison Crag
- Birkhouse Moor
- Birks
- Catstye Cam
- Clough Head
- Dollywaggon Pike
- Dove Crag
- Fairfield
- Glenridding Dodd
- Gowbarrow Fell (Wainwright summit)
- Great Dodd
- Great Rigg
- Hart Crag
- Hart Side
- Hartsop Above How (Gill Crag - Hartsop Above How)
- Helvellyn
- Heron Pike (Rydal)
- High Hartsop Dodd
- High Pike (Scandale)
- Little Hart Crag (Little Hart Crag - West Top)
- Little Mell Fell
- Low Pike
- Middle Dodd
- Nab Scar
- Nethermost Pike
- Raise
- Red Screes
- Seat Sandal
- Sheffield Pike
- St Sunday Crag
- Stone Arthur
- Stybarrow Dodd
- Watson's Dodd
- White Side
Maps & guidebooks for Great Mell Fell
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