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

Meal Fell - a broken stone shelter on a grassy top, broad grassy fells rising beyond under big clouds
Wainwright — Northern FellsAlso a Birkett

Meal Fell

Meal Fell at 550m (1,804ft) is a small, grassy summit in the Back o' Skiddaw country above Longlands, giving pleasant views across the northern moorlands.

549 m
Height
~2.5–3 h
Typical time
+11
Bonus Birketts
See routes & download GPX →

Home › Fells › Meal Fell

Written and walked by Lee McCoy · Last reviewed

549 mWainwright — Northern Fells✓ summit is also a Birkett+11 bonus Birketts within 3 km Straightforward in cloud

Is it worth going? — Today’s conditions & 7-day summit forecast

Modelled guidance for the 549 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.

On the summit today (Tue 28 Jul): 15° to 14°C, gusts to 36 mph, 4.5 mm of rain forecast.

Tue 28 Jul
🌦️
15° / 14°
💨 36 mph
🌧 4.5 mm (61%)
Wed 29 Jul
🌧️
16° / 11°
💨 32 mph
🌧 10.2 mm (71%)
Thu 30 Jul
🌧️
14° / 6°
💨 31 mph
🌧 1.9 mm (76%)
Fri 31 Jul
🌤️
15° / 2°
💨 24 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (76%)
Sat 1 Aug
🌦️
14° / 4°
💨 15 mph
🌧 2.7 mm (55%)
Sun 2 Aug
☁️
16° / 3°
💨 17 mph
🌧 0.0 mm (28%)
Mon 3 Aug
🌦️
15° / 6°
💨 15 mph
🌧 0.4 mm (22%)

Forecast snapshot from 28 Jul 2026, 04:58 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 549 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

About the walk

Key information

Meal Fell

Meal Fell - a broken stone shelter on a grassy top, broad grassy fells rising beyond under big clouds
© Lee McCoy

Meal Fell at 550m (1,804ft) is a small, grassy summit in the Back o' Skiddaw country above Longlands, giving pleasant views across the northern moorlands. Wainwright included it as part of the northern Skiddaw group. The ascent from Longlands is short and easy. Combined naturally with Great Sca Fell and Brae Fell as part of the Back o' Skiddaw group. A quiet, easy fell for those exploring the northern Lake District.

🗒️ My notes
This is another innocuous fell at 550m without any challenging aspects 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, or as I did it as a circuit backdown to Longlands Fell.

Routes up Meal Fell

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

North of Skiddaw
13.2 km · ~3.8 hr
Classifications & hill data
Wainwright
Northern
Birkett
Fellranger
Synge
549 m
Height
1,801 ft
In feet
NY 2830 3376
Grid ref

Map & nearby Birketts

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

Nearest parking: Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside), about 3.7 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.

Birketts near Meal Fell (within 3 km)

These Birkett tops are not Wainwright summits — detour to them on this walk and they are pure profit. Distances are straight-line; allow extra for terrain.

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
1.8 km SWWhite Hause464 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 SkiddawRevised
13.22 km · ~707 m ascent · loop · ~3.5–5 h
Summits: Longlands FellLowthwaite FellBrae FellLittle Sca FellGreat Sca FellMeal FellGreat CockupOrthwaite Bank

⬇️ Download GPX

Full route guide ↗

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

The View 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 kmWhite Hause · 2 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
What you can see from Meal Fell, 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), White Hause (2 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), 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 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 (CC BY 4.0). See how we compute the view · and the summit intervisibility report below.

What you can see from Meal Fell

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

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

Far horizons
  • 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 Meal 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 Meal Fell

Where we have the data, each parking spot also shows the nearest public toilets and facilities (cafés, pubs, shops).

Peter House Farm, Bassenthwaite (roadside) — 3.7 km from summit (straight line)
Dash Falls track — Bakestall, Great Calva, Skiddaw the quiet way.
Directions
Caldbeck village (free) — 7.2 km from summit (straight line)
Northern edge — High Pike and Carrock Fell from the north.
Directions
🚺 Public toilets (949m)

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 Meal 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 or Traveline before relying on a last bus.

My hikes over Meal Fell (Strava)

1 logged hike pass over this summit:

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

Navigating Meal 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 Meal Fell compares with all 214 — the Clag Index: navigating in cloud. A relative, deliberately cautious guide; the site can’t navigate for you.

Other fells near Meal Fell

Maps & guidebooks for Meal Fell

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