Route: Great Mell Fell
Area: Eastern Lake District
Date of walk: 7th December 2022
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 2.4 miles
Ascent: 900 feet
Weather: Freezing cold, sunny
Great Mell Fell stands in an isolated position at 1,760 feet and is shaped rather like a pudding, a feature which it shares with its lesser neighbour Little Mell Fell. The slopes of the fell are gentle, especially on the eastern side, and this makes for an easy fell walk. I’ve not visited the fell for over six years and a return visit was well overdue
As on the previous occasion we parked in one of the roadside spaces near Brownrigg Farm. We followed the track uphill for a short distance before turning off to head up the gentle slopes of Great Mell Fell. Despite the sunshine and blue skies it was bitterly cold and the ground was frozen solid. We passed by a number of trees on the fellside which have been battered and almost flattened in some cases by the prevailing winds, and many of them have assumed grotesque shapes. After a short woodland section we were soon at the summit of the fell, which is marked by a small heap of stones – too insignificant to be termed a cairn
The view from the top is extensive, the highlight being the Blencathra range. There is also a good view towards the Pennines
The fell is ringed by a path lower down, so that a descent could be made in almost any direction and this would inevitably link up with the path. We were content to retrace our steps, making a small deviation at one point, before regaining our original path back to the start.
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The start of the walk as we follow this track from the roadside parking space
Looking back
We join a path which encircles Great Mell Fell
Looking back to Little Mell Fell
We leave the path at this junction to head up the grassy slopes of Great Mell Fell
Little Mell Fell again, with Ullswater beyond though unseen from here
Views of Matterdale as we gain height...
Windswept trees...
A dusting of snow on the Pennines in the distance
We approach a small wooded area below the summit
We take the path on the left and will return via the one on the right
We follow a path through the woodland section
Looking back
More windswept trees...
We arrive at the summit of Great Mell Fell - the ridges of Blencathra are well seen from here
The Eden Valley and the Pennines from the summit
The north western fells, and Blencathra again
We retrace our steps back to the start...
Little Mell Fell
Near the end of the walk we pass by the contorted trees again, a feature of this excellent short walk
The following day, four photos of a short stroll to Crummock Water....
Grasmoor
Crummock Water...
