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537 m · Wainwright — Eastern Fells · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.

Great Mell Fell, a Lake District fell
Wainwright — Eastern FellsAlso a Birkett

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.

537 m
Height
~2–2.5 h
Typical time
+0
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX → Parking & buses →
537 mWainwright — Eastern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+0 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

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 (Sat 12 Sep): 15° to 7°C, gusts to 39 mph, 8.8 mm of rain forecast.

Sat 12 Sep
🌧️
15° / 7°
💨 39 mph
🌧 8.8 mm (100%)
Sun 13 Sep
☁️
15° / 9°
💨 14 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (12%)
Mon 14 Sep
🌦️
17° / 12°
💨 29 mph
🌧 0.8 mm (100%)
Tue 15 Sep
🌦️
15° / 9°
💨 29 mph
🌧 3.1 mm (98%)
Wed 16 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 26 mph
🌧 0.8 mm (54%)
Thu 17 Sep
🌦️
11° / 8°
💨 33 mph
🌧 7.2 mm (97%)
Fri 18 Sep
🌦️
12° / 8°
💨 35 mph
🌧 6.8 mm (92%)

Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 15:36 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.

Great Mell Fell at a glance

Great Mell Fell

Great Mell Fell, a Lake District fell
© Lee McCoy

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. Wainwright described it as a pleasant, easy climb with surprisingly wide views — north to Blencathra and Skiddaw, and east across the Eden Valley to the Pennines. The ascent from Brownrigg Farm is short and straightforward through bracken and heather. Often combined with Little Mell Fell as a gentle half-day outing from Penrith or Ullswater. A good introduction to Lakeland fell walking for beginners.

Routes up Great Mell Fell

Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.

Classifications & hill data

Wainwright
Eastern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
Marilyn
537 m
Height
1,762 ft
In feet
NY 3968 2537
Grid ref

The short answers

Is Great Mell Fell a Wainwright?

Great Mell Fell is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Fellranger list and the Marilyn list.

Where do you park for Great Mell Fell?

The nearest car park we hold is Great Mell Fell, south-west car park, about 1.1 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Great Mell Fell, south-west (layby), 1.2 km out. We only look within 2.5 km, measured straight-line: over longer distances a road may cross a pass and the drive bears no relation to the line.

How hard is Great Mell Fell?

The shortest way up we hold is Great Mell Fell — 3.5 km, 269 m of ascent, about 1.1 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Moderate.

All axes: steepness: Moderate · navigation: Easy · exposure: Easy · length: Easy · terrain: Easy.

My hikes over Great Mell Fell (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Interactive route maps and photos load here for visitors with JavaScript. Data from Strava.

Parking & buses for Great Mell Fell

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).

Great Mell Fell, south-west car park — 1.1 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Great Mell Fell (1.1 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Great Mell Fell, south-west (layby) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Great Mell Fell (1.2 km). Free (OSM-tagged). Ground surface (OSM-tagged).
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Great Mell Fell (verge) — 1.2 km from summit (straight line)
1.2 km from Great Mell Fell.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Great Mell Fell layby — 1.3 km from summit (straight line)
Small layby at the foot of Great Mell Fell.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?
Great Mell Fell car park — 2.0 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Great Mell Fell (2.0 km). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions (opens in new tab)Something changed here?

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.

Vehicles are left entirely at their owner’s risk. We list places people park; we cannot vouch for any of them. Judge it on the day: take valuables with you, leave nothing on show, and if a spot feels wrong when you get there, park somewhere else.

Getting to Great Mell Fell by bus

The 509 stops at Matterdale End, outside Brook House Farm. From there it is 1.8 km and 38 m of ascent to the start of Great Mell Fell — a walk in before the walk. The last bus is 17:15 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:50 towards Hartsop (509) and 10:10 towards Lowther (UB2) and 09:10 towards Martindale (UB1), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 509
Penrith ↔ Keswick around Ullswater — calls at Pooley Bridge, Watermillock, Glenridding, Patterdale, Hartsop, Dockray, Matterdale, Mungrisdale and Threlkeld
Catch it from: Penrith · Keswick
The Ullswater side of the Penrith–Keswick corridor, and a second option where we previously showed only the 508. Reaches Helvellyn and Catstye Cam from Glenridding, Place Fell and Angletarn Pikes from Patterdale, the Hartsop fells, and Gowbarrow from Dockray. Frequency and season are not listed here because we have not verified a timetable — check Stagecoach before you rely on it. Note the Troutbeck on this route is the one on the A66 near Penrith, not the Troutbeck near Windermere.

Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

Hazards on Great Mell Fell

No hazard card for this fell. The usual open-fell rules apply: check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected.

Navigating Great Mell Fell in cloud

Straightforward

A 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.

Map & nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.

Nearest parking: Great Mell Fell, south-west car park, about 1.1 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

3.47 km · ~269 m ascent · loop · ~1–1.5 h
Summits: Great Mell Fell

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.

The view from Great Mell Fell

The 360° skyline 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.

drag to pan · arrow keys
Computed 360-degree skyline from Great Mell Fell36 labelled tops shown (9 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWHelvellyn · 12 kmPillar · 26 kmRaise · 10 kmFairfield · 14 kmBlencathra · 8 kmDollywaggon Pike · 13 kmGreat Dodd · 7 kmGrasmoor · 23 kmStybarrow Dodd · 8 kmHigh Street · 15 kmHigh Raise · 13 kmKnowe Crags · 9 kmDove Crag · 15 kmRed Screes · 17 kmStony Cove Pike · 16 kmClough Head · 7 kmBowscale Fell · 8 kmBannerdale Crags · 7 kmLoadpot Hill · 9 kmTarn Crags Top · 8 kmCarrock Fell · 10 kmHigh Pike · 12 kmCross Fell · 30 km · clear daysHobcarton End · 20 kmGreat Borne · 29 kmLord's Seat · 19 kmArthur's Pike · 8 kmSwarth Fell · 8 kmLittle Mell Fell · 3 kmGowk Hill · 10 kmSighty Crag · 59 km · clear daysRoan Fell · 68 km · clear daysHeughscar Hill · 9 kmEycott Hill · 4 kmMickle Fell · 41 km · clear daysCold Fell · 37 km · clear daysHelvellyn Lower Man · 12 kmAtkinson Pike · 8 kmSt Sunday Crag · 12 kmRampsgill Head · 13 kmGrisedale Pike · 20 kmThornthwaite Crag · 16 kmBirkhouse Moor · 10 kmWether Hill · 10 kmLittle Hart Crag · 15 kmSt Raven's Edge · 17 kmGategill Fell Top · 8 kmWhinlatter Top · 20 kmSouther Fell · 6 kmRowling End · 17 kmCalkin Rig · 63 km · clear daysRogan's Seat · 57 km · clear daysHoove · 63 km · clear daysDunmallet · 7 kmLarriston Fells · 69 km · clear daysDufton Pike · 30 km · clear daysBroad Law · 101 km · a rare clear dayThe Cheviot · 108 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 118 km · a rare clear dayGreen Lowther · 100 km · a rare clear dayWisp Hill · 74 km · a rare clear dayCauldcleuch Head · 76 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 107 km · a rare clear dayPeel Fell · 78 km · a rare clear dayBlackwood Hill · 72 km · a rare clear day
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.

Sunrise and sunset on Great Mell Fell

Great Mell Fell sits close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its longest wait of the modelled year (on 1 September) first light is only 3 minutes after almanac sunrise, so the published sunrise time is a fair guide here.

30°40°50°60°04:34
Midsummer. The filled shape is the skyline as seen from the summit; the line is the sun’s path. Where they meet is first light — everything left of that point is the wait.
Times for 2026, in Lakeland clock time (GMT in winter, BST in summer) — and model outputs rather than observations.
First lightAlmanac sunriseDifference
Midsummer04:34 BST ±5.0 min04:35-1 min
Equinox06:15 GMT ±5.0 min06:15
Midwinter08:33 GMT ±5.0 min08:33

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean -0.16°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Great Mell Fell

Great Mell Fell loses the sun early. Its earliest evening of the modelled year falls on 1 December, when last light is 23 minutes before almanac sunset — 15:28 against 15:51. The sun goes down to the south-west from here (226.8°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 2.23°.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:45 BST ±5.0 min21:53-8 min
Equinox18:27 GMT ±5.0 min18:26+1 min
Midwinter15:30 GMT ±5.0 min15:48-18 min

Computed, not photographed. First light is the first minute the sun’s upper limb clears this summit’s own skyline and last light the last minute it is still clear of it, both solved against the 360° horizon profile behind The View from Great Mell Fell. Almanac sunrise and sunset are the flat-horizon convention. Every time carries a ± band from the 30 m elevation model — it smooths arêtes and cornices, so nothing here claims better than five minutes. These are daylight figures, not a descent plan: the light goes on fading for a good while after the sun leaves, and going down in it is a decision about your own ground and party, not about this table.

What you can see from Great Mell Fell

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
68Wainwrights in view+1 marginal
32 kmFurthest sightlineGreat Dun Fell
Sea in viewnone from here
Far horizons
  • Great Dun Fell North PenninesENE · 32 km clear
  • Cross Fell North PenninesENE · 30 km clear
All 68 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

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.

Places to stay near this fell

Lowthwaite Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest house

about 1.2 km from the start, in a straight line

Ranked 1 on usefulness AND on distance - the only property in the whole radius that answers the wet-walker questions from its own copy. It is 1.19 km from the Great Mell Fell start, has a drying room in the standard facilities list for every room, welcomes children of all ages, keeps a cot and high chair, and has two bedrooms linked by a private vestibule so a family shares one lockable suite. It also solves the problem this valley actually has - finding the door: the page warns that the CA11 0LE postcode drops sat navs about a mile away at a house called Todgill and gives a what3words for the car park instead.

The bedroom furniture was made by hand in Tanzania, left over from the years the owners ran a business arranging Kilimanjaro climbs; the four rooms are named after what you see from each window - Matterdale, Helvellyn, Blencathra and Garden - and the Blencathra room sleeps in a converted tractor shed with its sitting room up in the old granary.

  • Drying room “Maps (for planning and laminated for walks), Drying room, and Fridge (in the Dining Room).”
  • Family rooms “Matterdale and Helvellyn rooms are connected via a small, private vestibule and together they are ideal for a family or a group of friends. Infants are welcome, and there is plenty of space for a cot.”
  • Parking “Another alternative is to use what3words where our car park is primed.lavished.amounting”
  • Children “We are very happy to welcome children of all ages.”

What each place says about itself, quoted from their own site. We have not stayed at any of them, and there are no prices, no booking and no affiliate links. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).

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