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A stone shelter cairn on the summit, with a long grassy ridge rising to a rounded top under a bright sky

Meal Fell

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549 mWainwright — Northern Fells+10 bonus Birketts within 3 km

Meal Fell at 549m (1,802ft) is a small, grassy summit in the Back o' Skiddaw country above Longlands, giving pleasant views across the northern moorlands. Wainwright included it in his Northern Fells guide.

Summit conditions on Meal Fell

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 54 mph, 15.3 mm of rain forecast over the whole day, midnight to midnight.

Against our lines, Tuesday 27 October: wind, cold and cloud from the Met Office UKV 2 km model (daylight hours, as in the verdict above); rain from the summit line’s forecast (the whole day). A tile is large when this top is past its line.

Wind on the top

Past the line

55 mph, our estimate for the open top in the worst daylight hour

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 50 mph times our exposure factor of 1.1. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 54 mph, before any exposure factor.

The line Our line: 25 mph, where our wind Scale begins its 25–35 band: “balance affected; buffeting on exposed ground”. MWIS describes what wind does to a walker across a range rather than at a line: from about 20–25 mph it starts to affect your balance.

Estimated: it is not calibrated against summit readings, and the two forecasts can disagree by more than a band.

Rain, and the becks

Past the line

15.3 mm of rain over the whole day, midnight to midnight

The same figure as the summit line above and the 7-day forecast.

The line Our line: 6 mm in the day, where our scorer counts a day as soaking. We read rainfall, never river levels: becks in spate.

Open-Meteo’s forecast. It says nothing about rain already in the ground.

Also checked cold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 29 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20. Under a line is not the same as fine: it means only that these figures are under the lines we use.

Not in these tiles Lightning, river levels, snow or ice already lying, and the ground under your feet. A tile cannot see them, so an empty space here never means they are absent.

Snow figures with a second opinion: Powered by Met Office data

Full 7-day summit forecast ↓

Wainwrights are scored for walking conditions each morning from the Met Office’s UK forecast model, read for each summit through Open-Meteo; the forecast figures are Open-Meteo’s, worked out for the summit’s height. How we check →

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Routes up Meal Fell

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

North of Skiddaw Walked by Lee
13.22 km · ~729 m ascent · ~3¾–5¼ h · loop · 8 summits
Moderate effort Hard: steepness
Park: Longlands Fell car park

Eight tops in the grassy country north of Skiddaw — Longlands Fell, Brae Fell, the two Sca Fells, Meal Fell and Great Cockup among them.

Distance and climb are measured from the route’s GPX track, and the time from them by Naismith’s rule; the route page says what each grade rests on. How we check →

Is Meal Fell an easy walk?

Yes. It is a small grassy top in the quiet Uldale group behind Skiddaw, the slopes are even, and there is nothing rocky about it, though the drop from its top to the col with Great Cockup is steep for a short way (about 29% on our line). Our round over it is 13.2 km with 729 m of ascent, with navigation graded easy in clear weather.

The reason to come is emptiness rather than drama. These northern fells see a fraction of the traffic of anywhere else, and Meal Fell’s neat little col with Great Cockup is a fine place to sit with nobody else in sight.

How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 549 m summit (Open-Meteo). Check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

Full 7-day forecast
Tue 27 Oct
12° / 6°
54 mph
15.3 mm (100%)
Wed 28 Oct
9° / 6°
47 mph
4.7 mm (100%)
Thu 29 Oct
10° / 7°
23 mph
0.2 mm (2%)
Fri 30 Oct
10° / 6°
21 mph
0.0 mm (11%)
Sat 31 Oct
11° / 0°
5 mph
0.0 mm (21%)
Sun 1 Nov
8° / 0°
8 mph
0.0 mm (12%)
Mon 2 Nov
8° / 1°
12 mph
0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 08:13 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Meal Fell

Parking

Route starts first, then the car parks nearest the summit, which are not always a way up.

Longlands Fell car park — at the start of North of Skiddaw
Walking base for Longlands Fell, Lowthwaite Fell, Brae Fell and Little Sca Fell — the 'North of Skiddaw' route starts 1 m away. Unpaved surface (OSM-tagged). Fee not verified — check signage on arrival.
Directions Something changed here?
Roadside parking for Longlands Fell (free) — 2.7 km from summit (straight line)
1.1 km from Longlands Fell. Added from the 5 August 2026 OSM candidate review.
Directions Something changed here?
Little Cockup car park — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
1.8 km from Little Cockup.
Directions Something changed here?
2 more places to park near Meal Fell
Orthwaite Bank (layby) — 3.2 km from summit (straight line)
Nearest fells: Orthwaite Bank (0.7 km), Little Cockup (1.2 km), Cockup (1.8 km). Free (OSM-tagged).
Directions Something changed here?
Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Dash Falls track — Bakestall, Great Calva, Skiddaw the quiet way.
Directions Something changed here?

Positions are approximate.

Vehicles are left at their owner’s risk: we list places people park and cannot vouch for any of them. Take valuables with you and leave nothing on show.

Buses

The nearest bus stop we hold is the 553, 554 and X4 stop at Bassenthwaite, at Village turn, 6.4 km of walking from the start — no bus route we hold serves it.

Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat

Hazards on Meal Fell

Notes from the North of Skiddaw route

If you need to get off (the leg from Great Sca Fell): We have not checked a line down from the col before Meal Fell for this guide, so none is offered here.

Quoted from the route page: the note for the leg that reaches Meal Fell.

We have not written a hazard card for this fell yet, and that is not a sign that it is low-hazard. Read the warnings on the route pages that climb it, check the forecast, carry a map and compass, and turn back in cloud if the ground is not what you expected. The National Park Authority’s What to pack page, AdventureSmart’s hill walking kit list and Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s safety page are linked from our what to carry guide.

Navigating in cloud

Not graded by the model

Our terrain model finds nothing to grade on this summit, so it gives no cloud grade here — that is not a sign of easy navigation. Read this fell’s hazard notes and the route pages before a day in cloud. Carry map and compass, and know how to use them.

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 Meal Fell compares with all 214: the Clag Index (experimental).

If you need Mountain Rescue

Dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Before you call, have ready: where you are (a grid reference if you can – the OS Locate app shows yours on your phone), what has happened, how many of you there are, and your mobile number.

Then stay where you are until the rescue team contacts you.

If you cannot make a voice call because of a hearing or speech impairment, emergency SMS works only if you have registered first: text “register” to 999.

From Mountain Rescue England and Wales’s guidance on calling them out (read 26 October 2026).

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).

Parking, toilets and buses: Parking & buses ↑.

Birketts within 3 km of Meal Fell

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits. Distances are straight lines: check the ground and access on a map before adding one.

0.7 km SEFrozen Fell625 m · Northern
0.8 km NELittle Sca Fell633 m · Northern
0.9 km SBurn Tod595 m · Northern
1.1 km NNWLowthwaite Fell509 m · Northern
2.1 km EMiller Moss (Little Lingy Hill)610 m · Northern
2.1 km WLittle Cockup399 m · Northern
2.3 km SLittle Calva642 m · Northern
2.7 km WOrthwaite Bank348 m · Northern
2.7 km EGreat Lingy Hill616 m · Northern
3.0 km ESECoomb Height627 m · Northern

Routes over Meal Fell

North of Skiddaw
13.22 km · ~729 m ascent · loop · ~3¾–5¼ h
Moderate effort Hard: steepness
Summits: Longlands FellLowthwaite FellBrae FellLittle Sca FellGreat Sca FellMeal FellGreat CockupOrthwaite Bank

Download GPX Walked by Lee, August 2024

Route guide →

Every line here is a guide, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate for yourself and carry a map and compass. How to use this guide.

About Meal Fell

A stone shelter cairn on the summit, with a long grassy ridge rising to a rounded top under a bright sky
© Lee McCoy

Combined naturally with Great Sca Fell and Brae Fell as part of the Back o' Skiddaw group. An easy fell for those exploring the northern Lake District.

Field notes

This is another innocuous fell at 550m without much to challenge you on a clear day and is part way between Great Sca Fell and Great Cockup. I recall having an early lunch sat in the dilapidated shelter and enjoying the sunshine and knowing that there's not much left of my hike and I'd be back to the car soon. But thinking about this fell as perhaps part of a low-key family hike with a need to avoid the crowds it can be visited as part of a simple out-and-back over Horsemoor Hills from Longlands (a line we have not mapped), or as I did it as a circuit backdown to Longlands Fell.

— Lee McCoy, who walked it on our North of Skiddaw route in August 2024

My Strava hikes over Meal Fell

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

Data from Strava.

Classifications & hill data

Is Meal Fell a Wainwright?

Meal Fell is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list and the Fellranger list.

Selected lists

Wainwright
Northern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
549 m
Height
1,802 ft
In feet
NY 2830 3376
Grid ref

This is the summit’s grid reference. If you call from anywhere else, give your own position, not this one.

The summit is also a Birkett.

Lists, height and summit position from the Database of British and Irish Hills; the feet are converted from its metres and the grid reference from that position. How we check →

The view from Meal Fell

The 360° skyline from Meal 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 Meal Fell22 labelled tops shown (13 distant behind the far-horizon toggle). Theoretical visibility in perfect clarity; computed from terrain, not photographed.eye levelNNEESESSWWNWSkiddaw · 5 kmSkiddaw Little Man · 6 kmWhiteside East Top · 16 kmLittle Sca Fell · 1 kmBrae Fell · 2 kmBlake Fell · 22 kmCriffel · 43 km · clear daysGraystones · 13 kmFrozen Fell · 1 kmBurn Tod · 1 kmGreat Cockup · 1 kmBengairn · 55 km · clear daysLowthwaite Fell · 1 kmLittle Cockup · 2 kmWisp Hill · 66 km · clear daysCalkin Rig · 54 km · clear daysGreen How · 4 kmBishop Forest Hill · 63 km · clear daysClints Crags · 12 kmWatch Hill · 13 kmBainloch Hill · 45 km · clear daysGrange Fell · 48 km · clear daysBroad End · 4 kmLord's Seat · 11 kmHatteringill Head · 18 kmBinsey · 6 kmMochrum Fell · 70 km · clear daysKillyleoch Hill · 63 km · clear daysSlieve Donard · 191 km · a handful of days a yearMerrick · 100 km · a rare clear daySnaefell · 100 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Carsphairn · 94 km · a rare clear dayCairnsmore of Fleet · 85 km · a rare clear dayTinto · 106 km · a rare clear dayWhite Coomb · 82 km · a rare clear dayQueensberry · 72 km · a rare clear dayCairn Table · 106 km · a rare clear dayCairnharrow · 78 km · a rare clear dayColt Hill · 88 km · a rare clear dayDun Rig · 98 km · a rare clear dayTurner Cleuch Law · 87 km · a rare clear day
The skyline as a list, by direction
  • North: Brae Fell (2 km), Wisp Hill (66 km)
  • North-east: Little Sca Fell (1 km)
  • South-east: Frozen Fell (1 km)
  • South: Burn Tod (1 km), Skiddaw Little Man (6 km), Skiddaw Lesser Man (6 km)
  • South-west: Great Cockup (1 km), Cockup (3 km), Bakestall (4 km), Broad End (4 km), Skiddaw North Top (5 km), Skiddaw (5 km), Skiddaw Middle Top (5 km), Skiddaw South Top (6 km), Barf (10 km), Lord's Seat (11 km), Ullister Hill (11 km), Broom Fell (11 km), Ling Fell (12 km), Whinlatter Top (12 km), Graystones (13 km), Graystones (13 km), Kirk Fell (13 km), Ladyside Pike (15 km), Gasgale Crags (16 km), Whiteside East Top (16 km), Whiteside (16 km), Hatteringill Head (18 km), Fellbarrow (18 km), Loweswater End (21 km), Carling Knott (21 km), Blake Fell (22 km), Owsen Fell (22 km)
  • West: Little Cockup (2 km), Binsey (6 km), Bengairn (55 km)
  • North-west: Lowthwaite Fell (1 km), Longlands Fell (2 km), Criffel (43 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (191 km, Ireland), Merrick (100 km, Scotland), Snaefell (100 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (94 km, Scotland), Cairnsmore of Fleet (85 km, Scotland), Corserine (95 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (95 km, Scotland), Tinto (106 km, Scotland).

Computed from Copernicus GLO-30 terrain; distant tops from the Database of British and Irish Hills v18.4 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

Sunrise and sunset on Meal Fell

Meal Fell waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls on 1 December, when the sun is up for 68 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 09:20 against an almanac sunrise of 08:12. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the south-east from here (142.8°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 6.43°.

0°40°50°60°70°05:32
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
Midsummer05:32 BST ±6.0 min04:36+56 min
Equinox06:57 GMT ±5.0 min06:15+42 min
Midwinter09:40 GMT ±5.0 min08:34+66 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.27°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Meal Fell

Meal Fell holds the light. On not one of the sixteen dates modelled does the sun leave this summit before almanac sunset — the ground falls away westward rather than standing over you, and at midsummer it is still in the sun 4 minutes after the valley has lost it.

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
Last lightAlmanac sunsetDifference
Midsummer21:58 BST ±5.0 min21:54+4 min
Equinox18:31 GMT ±5.0 min18:26+5 min
Midwinter15:51 GMT ±5.0 min15:48+3 min

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 Meal Fell

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.
16Wainwrights in view+4 marginal
191 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Donard · possible under favourable refraction
2Sea in viewIrish Sea, Solway Firth

On the clearest days the view reaches across to Scotland, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.

Far horizons
  • Slieve Donard Northern IrelandWSW · 191 km clear
  • Merrick ScotlandWNW · 101 km clear
  • Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 100 km clear
  • Criffel ScotlandNW · 44 km clear
  • Irish Sea open waterWSW · 36 km in view
  • Solway Firth bay/estuaryNW · 32 km in view
All 16 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Great Cockup, Brae Fell, Longlands Fell, Bakestall, Skiddaw, Binsey, Skiddaw Little Man, Barf, Sale Fell, Lord's Seat, Broom Fell, Ling Fell, Graystones (Graystones North Top), Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Blake Fell

How the view from Meal Fell compares with all 214 — the View Report: every Wainwright ranked by what you can see from the top.

How the skyline, light and sightlines are computed

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 Meal 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.

Sightlines from the Copernicus GLO-30 elevation model, which is a surface model: each 30 m cell holds the top of whatever stands there, trees and buildings included, rather than bare ground. 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

We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from each route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions about Meal Fell

Is Meal Fell an easy walk? Answered above.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction

Other fells near Meal Fell