Great Mell Fell out and back
Photo: © Lee McCoy
Start Great Mell Fell layby
Getting here Parking: Great Mell Fell layby, 0.0 km from the start (straight line). Bus: the 509, UB1 and UB2 stop at Matterdale End, outside Brook House Farm; from there it is 1.8 km and 38 m of ascent to this start. And the same back: about 7.0 km in all, with the walk. The UB1 and UB2 run until 1 November 2026, the last day of their season. Getting there ↓ · Route map ↓
Hardest part Moderate steepness: Steepest sustained climb about 22% around the 0.6 km mark.
Before you choose
Conditions on this route
We score every Lakeland Wainwright each morning on cloud, wind, rain and underfoot, and this route crosses 1 of them. The worst summit governs the verdict — a route is only as kind as its roughest top.
Modelled guidance — not a substitute for the mountain forecast or your own judgement. See how every fell ranks today →
Daylight & turnaround
Daylight is short from October to February — check today’s sunrise and sunset before you set off, and carry a head-torch and spare batteries. On short days, decide your turn-back time before you start.
See also walking in bad weather and today’s conditions.
Route map
1 Great Mell Fell
Easy 45%Moderate 55%HardSevere
Heights on this chart and its high point are read from the track itself (a terrain model sampled along the line, or a GPS recording), so a top can differ from its listed height, usually reading lower.
Free mapping: OpenTopoMap / OpenStreetMap, with SRTM elevation data (switch layers top-right).
The elevation profile is under the map; the stage notes follow.
The walk, stage by stage
- 1
Start → Great Mell Fell (1.7 km, 273 m)
Out of the gate head left at first and follow the path west, then north and north-west up the fell to the top at about 1.7 km. It is a clear path and a steady climb.
© Lee McCoy Great Mell Fell → Finish (1.7 km, 1 m)
Come back down the way you came up, to the road at about 3.5 km. A path off to the right on the way down is little walked and appears to end in a wood with no clear way out: stay on the route’s path.
GPX track for your GPS or phone. Walked by Lee, August 2023
Summits bagged (1)
- 1Great Mell Fell537 m
Conditions and timing
Check live conditions in the “From the fells” panel, on MWIS (opens in new tab) and the Met Office mountain forecast (opens in new tab) before you set off.
Getting there and back
Parking
2 more places to park near the start
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 509, UB1 and UB2 stop at Matterdale End, outside Brook House Farm. From there it is 1.8 km and 38 m of ascent to this start — a walk in before the walk. And the same back: about 7.0 km in all, with the walk. The UB1 and UB2 run until 1 November 2026, the last day of their season. The last bus is 17:15 towards Patterdale (509) and 14:50 towards Hartsop (509), every day. Checked against the operator’s timetable, 7 September 2026; that timetable runs to 1 November 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 travelling.
Toilets and refreshments
The essentials
- Arrival The small layby at the foot of Great Mell Fell, beside the start. No fee or capacity is recorded for it here. 11 m in a straight line, not a walking distance. (our parking map (Lee confirmed the pin, 9 August 2026), checked 9 August 2026)
- Toilets No toilets are mapped within 250 m of the start. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
- Refreshments No café or pub is mapped within 250 m of the start: bring what you need. (OpenStreetMap, as mapped on 13 September 2026, checked 13 September 2026)
No mapped drinking water or shelter on this route — that doesn’t mean there is none, and never drink untreated from a beck. (Facilities data © OpenStreetMap contributors.)
Getting there across the Lake District: Buses · Parking map · By train · By boat
Planning detail
How each grade on this page is set, and the timings stage by stage.
Difficulty profile
Moderate overall — hardest: Steepness
Five independent axes, not one score. Three of the five were set on the ground; the rest are computed from the recorded track and the map, which measures the line rather than surveying the ground.
How we grade: each axis is Easy, Moderate, Hard or Severe, and a route between two bands takes the higher one. Length: under 8 km, 8–14 km, 14–20 km, over 20 km. Steepness, the steepest 500 m of the track: under 15%, 15–25%, 25–35%, over 35%. Terrain, navigation and exposure are judged rather than measured, and each note says why. How we grade.
Pacing
| Summit | Cumulative | Ascent | Time (fast–steady) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Great Mell Fell | 1.7 km | 273 m | 0:48–1:04 |
| Finish | 3.5 km | 274 m | 1:09–1:32 |
A fast–steady range from Naismith’s rule, deliberately on the slow side. Breaks, weather, rough ground and the slowest person in your party all add to it. How we time walks.
Access & barriers
Can a dog, a buggy or dodgy knees manage this route?
- Buggy: Stiles or rough going on the route.
- Knees: A sustained ~25% descent over 250 m around the 2.7 km mark — a little jarring on tired knees.
With a dog
Hardest for a dog here: stiles and gates.
- Stiles and gates: A stile of unmapped type at 3.2 km — a dog may need lifting over. (OpenStreetMap, mapped as of 20 July 2026)
- Rock and scrambling: Ground underfoot: Easy – graded by Lee on the ground. Graded on the ground.
- Drops and exposed ground: Easy – graded by Lee on the ground. Graded on the ground.
- Ways off early: None recorded for this route.
- Livestock, shade and water: Not recorded for this route yet. We never call a stream safe for a dog to drink, so carry enough for both of you. The lead rules, and what to do around cattle, are on dogs on the fells.
On the line: 1 gate · 1 stile (type unmapped)
Barriers as mapped on OpenStreetMap, which can miss some. Spotted one? Tell us (opens in new tab). Barrier data as of 20 July 2026. Access data © OpenStreetMap contributors (via Overpass).
Places to stay near this start
- Lowthwaite Bed and Breakfast (opens in new tab) guest houseabout 1.2 km
We have not stayed at any of them. We take no bookings or affiliate fees. Distances are straight lines from the route start, never walking times. Properties found via OpenStreetMap (opens in new tab).
Walks from places nearby
- Walks from Aira Force — 4.2 km from this start
Straight-line distance from this walk’s start. Those lists hold the routes we have mapped and every Wainwright and Outlying fell within about 5 km of the town, ranked nearest first.