Great Mell Fell
An easy if somewhat steep walk to a fantastic viewpoint at the top.
We've lived in the Lake District for just over a year now and I've seen Great Mell Fell in the distance on an almost daily basis but never been up it until recently. I'd always imagined the view from the top would be pretty good and, sure enough, it didn't disappoint!
Parking is at the foot of Great Mell Fell along the roadside, usually by the hedge. There are a few spaces just on the farm track, otherwise it's a case of finding a sensible spot and keeping well over to one side.
From here, you head up the farm track and can pick your route - today I headed through the gate on the right and made my way up the path, which carries on for a few hundred metres before you reach a section that's often pretty muddy but today was fairly well frozen which helped a lot as it was grippy grass, frozen mud and not much ice to contend with. You then head uphill to the left and it can feel like a relentless trudge to the top but if you've seen Great Mell Fell's side profile on your drive in this should come as no surprise. The trudge is already worth it though as you're soon rewarded with excellent views behind you across Little Mell Fell with Penrith and the North Pennines off to the left of that and various, much closer fells around Ullswater to the right.
About 2/3rds of the way up you come to a fork in the path - I felt like doing a wonky figure-of-eight loop so took the left-hand track which rewards you with views towards Matterdale Common and the fells beyond.
The path continues on to the summit and you then have 360° views for miles around, but the first thing to catch my eye is my favourite fell - Blencathra (learn why they're called fells if you're interested). I'd reached the summit in a windproof fleece as I knew from recent experience it would be too warm for extra layers but, once the wind hit at the top it was clear there would be no hanging around so I snapped a few photos and headed back.
From the top, I took the left-hand path down through some very windswept-looking trees down to the original crossover point in the path and took the right-hand route to descend on the southern path, which appears to be the favourite way up for walkers as there were some handy footsteps worn into the hillside here. Once you reach the fence, it's a simple case of following that back to the farm track and you're done.
This is actually my second time up Great Mell Fell having first done it just under a week ago. It was a misty day so not really worth a write-up, and I'd also made the "mistake" (your mileage may vary) of heading down the steeper north-western side - photo below for just how steep that is! I slipped three times on the way down and I can't imagine it's much nicer heading up that way really so I much preferred the easier version today which still offers some nice route variation.
