Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

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511 mWainwright — Western Fells+7 bonus Birketts within 3 km Serious in Clag

Mellbreak at 511m (1,677ft) is a distinctive double-summited ridge above the western shore of Crummock Water, its steep flanks rising directly from the lake edge.

Summit conditions on Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

On the summit on Tuesday 27 October: 12° to 6°C, gusts to 64 mph, 2.8 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

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

The Met Office 2 km model’s gust of 52 mph times our exposure factor of 1.2. The summit line above gives Open-Meteo’s highest gust for the whole day, 64 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 (opens in new tab) 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.

Also checked cold: feels like 2 °C, no ice or snow forecast; cloud: a clear-top reading of 31 out of 100, over our in-cloud line of 20; rain: 2.8 mm in the day, under our 6 mm line. 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 (opens in new tab)

Routes up Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Choose the way up before the car park: these two routes start from two places, and the last two rows give the parking and bus at each route’s own start. Full maps further down.

Compared	Mellbreak and Crummock Water	Scale Fell and Mellbreak
Starts from	Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid)	Buttermere village
Distance and climb	11.71 km, 535 m of climb	14.68 km, 572 m of climb
Time, fast to steady	~3–4½ h	~3¾–5¼ h
Scrambling	Hands for a few steps: the scree climb onto Mellbreak's north top, and the direct ascent of its south top (km 0.0–2.8 and km 3.5–4.0). Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top): The direct ascent climbs a very steep, sustained slope of loose scree threading through crags, with a slippery scramble where hands are needed.	Hands for a few steps: Mellbreak's south-east face (km 4.6–5.6). The direct ascent climbs a very steep, sustained slope of loose scree threading through crags, with a slippery scramble where hands are needed.
Exposure	Not assessed	Not assessed
Navigation	Moderate	Hard
Steepest stretch	Climb of about 42% at 2.3 km (Severe)	Descent of about 39% at 7.5 km (Severe)
After the summit	No further tops	Over Mellbreak North Top
Walked or planned	Planned: drawn, not yet walked	Planned: drawn, not yet walked
Car park at the start	Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid)	Buttermere village (NT, paid)
Bus to the start	77, 3.2 km walk from Lanthwaite Green Farm (opposite). Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.	77, 460 m walk from Buttermere, outside Court Hotel. The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day.

Times run from fast to steady pace (Naismith’s rule). Scrambling quotes each route’s own notes; “not mentioned” means they do not say, not that the ground has none. Each route’s page has its map, stages and GPX.

Distance, climb and the steepest stretch are measured from each route’s GPX track; the other grades are set on the ground, judged from the map or estimated from OpenStreetMap, and each route page says which. How we check →

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Modelled for the 511 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°

64 mph

2.8 mm (100%)

Wed 28 Oct

10° / 7°

44 mph

5.0 mm (100%)

Thu 29 Oct

10° / 8°

23 mph

0.3 mm (67%)

Fri 30 Oct

10° / 7°

25 mph

0.2 mm (12%)

Sat 31 Oct

9° / 4°

8 mph

6.0 mm (8%)

Sun 1 Nov

8° / 1°

12 mph

0.4 mm (2%)

Mon 2 Nov

7° / -2°

7 mph

0.0 mm (0%)

Taken 27 October 2026, 20:59 UTC; the live forecast replaces it when it loads. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (opens in new tab)

Pro mountain forecasts: MWIS · Met Office mountain forecast

Parking & buses for Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Parking

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

Maggie's Bridge, Loweswater (NT, paid) — at the start of Mellbreak and Crummock Water

Small paid car park for Mellbreak, Hen Comb and the Loweswater fells. Free for NT members (checked August 2026).

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: Car park for Loweswater Fell (free) (1.0 km, 38 m up); Lanthwaite Wood, Crummock Water (NT, paid) (1.7 km, 61 m up); Darling Fell (layby) (2.9 km, 141 m up)

Buttermere village (NT, paid) — at the start of Scale Fell and Mellbreak

For Red Pike, High Stile, Robinson, Rannerdale Knotts. Fees: pay and display (LDNP directory, checked August 2026). £7 up to 2 hours; £8 up to 4 hours; £9.50 all day. Free for NT members (checked August 2026). Charges apply at all times. Cash at machine; JustPark app at some car parks; card/phone payment not available in all car parks (NT, checked August 2026).

Typically full before 10:00 on fine weekends, Apr-Oct — Lee McCoy, local observation, 9 August 2026.

Directions Something changed here?

If it is full: High Snockrigg (verge) (0.6 km, 20 m up); Car park for Rannerdale Knotts (1.7 km, 139 m up)

Buttermere village (~285 m straight line) — Accessible Syke Farm Tea Room Croft House Farm Café The Buttermere Court Hotel

Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater (free) — 2.4 km from summit (straight line)

The Kirkstile Inn's own car park, for its customers: please use the pub if you park here. OSM records access=customers here - check the restriction before relying on it.

Directions Something changed here?

2 more places to park near Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Car park for Loweswater Fell (free) — 2.5 km from summit (straight line)

In Loweswater village, beside the road through it. The nearest route starts are at Maggie's Bridge, among them 'Loweswater circuit', 1.0 km on foot. Added from the 5 August 2026 OSM candidate review.

Directions Something changed here?

Lanthwaite Wood, Crummock Water (NT, paid) — 2.9 km from summit (straight line)

By Crummock Water, distinct from Lanthwaite Green further up the valley. Fees: pay and display (Lake District National Park car-parks directory, checked August 2026).

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 77 and 77A stop at Buttermere, outside Court Hotel, a 460 m walk from the start of Scale Fell and Mellbreak — a route we rate Severe overall (hardest: steepness). The 77A runs until 1 November 2026, the last day of its season. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day. It returns on 22 March 2027. Confirmed with the operator: its last day on 29 August 2026, its return on 16 October 2026. Last bus: Monday to Friday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Saturday 19:23 towards Cockermouth (77A) and 18:20 towards Keswick (77); Sunday 18:20 towards Keswick (77). Checked against the operator’s timetable, 12 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 2026. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.

Stagecoach 77 / 77A “Honister Rambler”

Keswick – Portinscale – Hawes End (Catbells) – Grange – Seatoller – Honister Pass – Buttermere – Lorton – Whinlatter – Keswick (circular)

Catch it from: Keswick (connect via 555 from Windermere/Ambleside or X4/X5 from Penrith)

Seasonal (Summer 2026 timetable: 23 March to 1 November 2026). Brilliant for the North Western fells: Catbells, Dale Head from Honister, the Buttermere fells and Whinlatter.

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

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

Hazards on Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Hazard & Incident Information for Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Checked by Lee McCoy, 14 June 2026. Draws on published material from Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team. Editorial background, not a live callout feed.

Hazard: Moderate

A steep, isolated fell rising abruptly above Loweswater and Crummock Water, with twin tops and a famously abrupt northern nose. The usual ascent up that nose is steep and sustained, on loose scree and through crags, with a slippery hands-and-feet scramble — best saved for fair, dry weather. The flanks above Crummock are steep and broken. Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team covers this ground.

The steep, loose northern nose: The direct ascent climbs a very steep, sustained slope of loose scree threading through crags, with a slippery scramble where hands are needed. Care and concentration with footing are essential; it's treacherous when wet and a poor way down. Save it for dry conditions.
Steep flanks above Crummock & small crags: The fell drops steeply, with broken crags, toward Crummock Water and on its other flanks. Keep to the path and back from the edges, and don't try to descend the steep faces.
Twin tops & navigation: Mellbreak has two summits with a dip between; in mist take care to identify the right top and the right way down (the steep nose is best avoided as a descent). A compass bearing helps on the heathery top.

Who should attempt this fell: Mellbreak is a steep, characterful fell best climbed in fair, dry weather: the loose, scrambly northern nose needs careful footing and is unpleasant or dangerous when wet, and it's a poor descent — go down by a gentler line instead. Keep back from the steep Crummock-facing edges, navigate the twin tops carefully in cloud, and treat the steep ground as serious in winter.

What to watch for: Slips on the steep, loose scree and the scramble up the northern nose · Falls on the steep flanks/crags above Crummock Water · Navigation errors between the twin tops or choosing a bad descent line · Attempting the steep nose in wet or icy conditions

Local Mountain Rescue: Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team (opens in new tab)

Safety: Always check current conditions, carry proper navigation equipment, and seek qualified instruction before heading onto the fells. In an emergency, call 999, ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue.

Report incorrect information (opens in new tab)

Navigating in cloud

Serious in cloud

Of the three things our terrain model measures, the highest reading here is the amount of steep ground within half a kilometre of the summit. A serious place to be caught in cloud: carry map and compass (or GPS) and know how to use them, or save it for a clear day.

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 Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top) 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 (opens in new tab) (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 Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

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

0.8 km SScale Knott338 m · Western

1.0 km NNWMellbreak North Top509 m · Western

1.8 km WNWLittle Dodd (Loweswater)362 m · Western

2.4 km ENELad Hows426 m · North Western

2.7 km SSWGale Fell518 m · Western

2.8 km WGavel Fell - High Nook (Gavel Fell North Top)488 m · Western

2.9 km WSWFloutern Cop451 m · Western

Routes over Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Mellbreak and Crummock Water

Summits: Mellbreak North TopMellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top): The direct ascent climbs a very steep, sustained slope of loose scree threading through crags, with a slippery scramble where hands are needed. Care and concentration with footing are essential; it's treacherous when wet and a poor way down. Save it for dry conditions.

From the hazard notes for Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top), each with its sources.

Route guide: Mellbreak and Crummock Water →

Scale Fell and Mellbreak

Summits: Scale KnottMellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)Mellbreak North Top

Download GPX Planned route · not yet walked

Warnings: The direct ascent climbs a very steep, sustained slope of loose scree threading through crags, with a slippery scramble where hands are needed. Care and concentration with footing are essential; it's treacherous when wet and a poor way down. Save it for dry conditions.

Route guide: Scale Fell and Mellbreak →

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.

On the hill: terrain and water on Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Water & shelter on the way up

On the Scale Fell and Mellbreak route:

Bridge Hotel (324 m from the start, straight line) The Fish Hotel (338 m from the start, straight line) Mountain Road junction (417 m from the start, straight line) Syke Farm Campsite (235 m from the start, straight line)

On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.

About Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

The usual ascent climbs the steep northern nose from the Loweswater end, and a circuit can come down the southern nose and back along the western shore of Crummock Water.

Classifications & hill data

Is Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top) a Wainwright?

Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top) is a Wainwright. It is also on the Birkett list, the Synge list, the Fellranger list and the Marilyn list.

Selected lists

511 m

Height

1,677 ft

In feet

NY 1484 1861

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.

Other tops of Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Mellbreak North Top: 509 m (1,670 ft)Our routes over it: Mellbreak and Crummock Water, Scale Fell and Mellbreak

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 Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

The 360° skyline from Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

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

The skyline as a list, by direction

North-east: Grasmoor (3 km), Gasgale Crags (5 km)
East: Thirdgill Head Man (4 km), Wandope (4 km), Crag Hill (5 km), Robinson (6 km), White Side (19 km), Helvellyn Lower Man (19 km), Raise (20 km), Stybarrow Dodd (20 km), Helvellyn (20 km), Catstye Cam (20 km)
South-east: High Stile (4 km), High Stile (4 km), Fleetwith Pike (7 km), Honister Crag (8 km), Dale Head (8 km), Grey Knotts (9 km), Brandreth (9 km), Green Gable (10 km), Great Gable (10 km), Glaramara (13 km), Combe Head (13 km), Looking Steads (13 km), Sergeant's Crag (14 km), Low White Stones (16 km), High Raise (16 km)
South: Starling Dodd (3 km), Steeple (7 km), Iron Crag (7 km), Black Crag (7 km), Scoat Fell (7 km), Little Gowder Crag (8 km), Haycock (8 km)
South-west: Great Borne (3 km)
West: Gavel Fell (3 km), Blake Fell (4 km)
North-west: Mellbreak North Top (1 km), Loweswater End (3 km), Carling Knott (4 km)

On the clearest days the far horizon adds: Slieve Donard (174 km, Ireland), Merrick (98 km, Scotland), Broad Law (105 km, Scotland), Snaefell (81 km, Isle of Man), Cairnsmore of Carsphairn (97 km, Scotland), Corserine (94 km, Scotland), Lamachan Hill (92 km, Scotland), South Barrule (99 km, Isle of Man).

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

Sunrise and sunset on Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top) waits for the sun. Its longest wait of the modelled year falls at midsummer, when the sun is up for 58 minutes before it clears this skyline — first light 05:35 against an almanac sunrise of 04:37. You are standing in shadow while the valley below is already lit. The sun comes up to the east-north-east from here (56.7°), and the skyline on that bearing stands at 6.04°.

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 light	Almanac sunrise	Difference
Midsummer	05:35 BST ±5.0 min	04:37	+58 min
Equinox	06:22 GMT ±5.0 min	06:16	+6 min
Midwinter	08:46 GMT ±5.0 min	08:34	+12 min

A low, open northern horizon — the ground falls away northwards (mean 0.22°).

Last light — when the sun leaves Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

The evening here runs close to the flat-horizon case. Even on its earliest evening of the modelled year (on 1 December) last light is only 17 minutes before almanac sunset, so the published sunset time is a fair guide on Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top).

The evening of the same three days. A negative difference means a ridge takes the sun before the valley loses it.
	Last light	Almanac sunset	Difference
Midsummer	21:56 BST ±5.0 min	21:54	+2 min
Equinox	18:31 GMT ±5.0 min	18:27	+4 min
Midwinter	15:36 GMT ±5.0 min	15:50	-14 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 Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

On a clear day — computed sightlines, curvature- and refraction-corrected.

38Wainwrights in view

179 kmFurthest sightlineSlieve Binnian · possible under favourable refraction

1Sea in viewSolway Firth

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

Far horizons

Slieve Binnian Northern IrelandWSW · 179 km clear
Slieve Donard Northern IrelandWSW · 174 km clear
Merrick ScotlandNW · 100 km clear
Snaefell Isle of ManWSW · 81 km clear
Criffel ScotlandNNW · 48 km clear
Solway Firth bay/estuaryNNW · 37 km in view

All 38 Wainwrights in clear view (nearest first)

Hen Comb, Rannerdale Knotts, Starling Dodd, Grasmoor, Whiteless Pike, Gavel Fell, Great Borne, Red Pike (Buttermere), Blake Fell, Whiteside (Whiteside West Top), Wandope, Low Fell, High Stile, Crag Hill (Eel Crag), Robinson, Fellbarrow - Mosser Fell, Steeple, Haystacks (Buttermere), Scoat Fell (Little Scoat Fell), Fleetwith Pike, Haycock, Dale Head, Graystones (Graystones North Top), Maiden Moor, Grey Knotts, Brandreth, Green Gable, Great Gable, Glaramara, High Seat, Sergeant's Crag, High Raise (High White Stones), Binsey, White Side, Raise, Stybarrow Dodd, Helvellyn, Catstye Cam

How the view from Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top) 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 Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top). 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

Crummockwater Cottages (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 0.9 km

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 (opens in new tab).

Frequently asked questions about Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Is Mellbreak steep?

Very, and it is the whole character of the fell. Mellbreak rises abruptly out of Loweswater and Crummock Water with a famously blunt northern nose, and the usual way up goes straight at it — steep and sustained, on loose ground in places, with little in the way of zig-zags.

The distance is short and the ascent is not enormous: our round with Crummock Water is 11.7 km with 535 m of ascent. But we grade its steepness severe, and that is the figure that tells you what the day feels like. It is an isolated fell with twin tops, so allow time to walk between them.

Questions from Google’s “People also ask”. · Last updated 2026-08-30 · Suggest a question or correction (opens in new tab)

Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Summit conditions on Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Wind on the top

Routes up Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Conditions and 7-day summit forecast

Parking & buses for Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Parking

Buses

Hazards on Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Hazard & Incident Information for Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Navigating in cloud

If you need Mountain Rescue

Map, GPX and nearby Birketts

Birketts within 3 km of Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Routes over Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

On the hill: terrain and water on Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Water & shelter on the way up

About Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Classifications & hill data

Is Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top) a Wainwright?

Selected lists

Other tops of Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

The view from Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

The 360° skyline from Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Sunrise and sunset on Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Last light — when the sun leaves Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

What you can see from Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Places to stay near this fell

Frequently asked questions about Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)

Other fells near Mellbreak (Mellbreak South Top)