509 m · Birkett — Western (not a Wainwright summit) · Birketts to bag nearby, parking, buses, my hikes and live summit weather.
Mellbreak North Top at 509m (1,670ft) is a Birkett top on the dramatic Mellbreak ridge above Crummock Water in the North Western Fells, its summit giving views across the lake to the Buttermere fells and Grasmoor.
Modelled guidance for the 509 m summit. Always check the Met Office mountain forecast and MWIS before you set off.
On the summit today (Sat 12 Sep): 15° to 8°C, gusts to 44 mph, 26.8 mm of rain forecast.
Forecast snapshot from 12 Sep 2026, 15:36 UTC — refreshed nightly and updated live in your browser. Temperatures and gusts adjusted to the 509 m summit altitude via Open-Meteo. Summit conditions are always harsher than the valley — check the professional mountain forecasts before you go.
Hand-mapped, with GPX to download — full maps further down.
Mellbreak North Top is not a Wainwright. It is on the Birkett list and the Synge list.
The nearest car park we hold is Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater (free), about 1.5 km from the summit in a straight line. The next is Car park for Loweswater Fell (free), 1.6 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.
The shortest way up we hold is Mellbreak and Crummock Water — 11.7 km, 530 m of ascent, about 3.2 hours. On our scale its hardest axis is steepness — Severe.
All axes: steepness: Severe · exposure: Hard · length: Moderate · navigation: Moderate · terrain: Moderate.
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.
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.
The 77 stops at Buttermere, outside Court Hotel, 460 m from the start of Scale Fell and Mellbreak. Seasonal: the 77 does not run all year. 1 November 2026 is its last day, and it is not daily before then — a bus on 31 of the 56 days from 7 September. We don’t know when it returns. Confirmed with the operator, 29 August 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. Times here are a guide, not a promise — leave yourself more than the minute.
Rural routes change seasonally — confirm on stagecoachbus.com (opens in new tab) or Traveline before relying on a last bus.
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.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap (switch layers top-right). Parking positions are approximate.
Nearest parking: Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater (free), about 1.5 km from the summit (straight line). Full parking, toilets and bus details are below.
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.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
✎️ Planned route — drawn but not personally walked or checked yet.
A planned line is a suggestion, not a guarantee — conditions change. Navigate independently and carry a map & compass. How to use this guide.
On the Scale Fell and Mellbreak route:
On-route facilities © OpenStreetMap contributors, per route — an absent marker doesn’t mean none.
about 0.9 km from the start, in a straight line
Foulsyke was a 16th-century manor house; the three cottages are its former barn and stables, and you reach the courtyard through an arched carriage entrance dated 1797.
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).