Mellbreak

Mellbreak

Western Lake District

Route: Mellbreak

Area: Western Lake District

Date of walk: 19th July 2016

Walkers: Andrew

Distance: 6.3 miles

Ascent: 1,800 feet

Weather: Sunny and exceptionally hot

Gilly dropped me off at Church Bridge near the famous Kirkstile Inn and if all went according to plan we’d meet up again for lunch there. I set off down the lane following the same route as I’ve done each of the many times I’ve been up Mellbreak – the fell stands on its own with no connecting ridges to other fells, so that there is little possibility of variations. As Wainwright puts it ‘Mellbreak is isolated, independent of other high ground, aloof’

The lane from Church Bridge becomes a stony track and when I reached the firebreak in the wood I turned off to start the steep climb up the fell, much better approached as an ascent than a descent, which is why I always do this walk anti-clockwise

I emerged at the north top huffing and puffing as it was a scorchingly hot day, the hottest of the year to date. There then followed the long down and up over the saddle of Mellbreak to the south top. The views from here were as good as ever

After descending via Scale Beck I walked along the shore of Crummock Water back to the Kirkstile. By the time I finished the walk I was completely parched and so the sight of Gilly greeting me there with a pint of Loweswater Gold seemed like a mirage – a great end to a classic walk

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