The Western Fells

Mellbreak

The modest rock platform and cairn at Mellbreak south top, just 3m higher than the north top. There is higher ground (grassy dome) about 75m to the north-east. This view looks south-east to Robinson and Fleetwith Pike with the slopes of Red Pike on the right.
Photograph taken: 22nd May 2018

The modest rock platform and cairn at Mellbreak south top, just 3m higher than the north top. There is higher ground (grassy dome) about 75m to the north-east. This view looks south-east to Robinson and Fleetwith Pike with the slopes of Red Pike on the right.
Photograph taken: 22nd May 2018
The highest point on Mellbreak lies about 75m north-east from the accepted summit (Wainwright top). This view looks south-west from the high point to the accepted summit, which appears directly below Starling Dodd. Great Borne is on the right.
Photograph taken: 14th May 2025
The north top at Mellbreak has by far the best aspect, with lovely views to the North and across Crummock Water to the Grasmoor massif. It is 3m lower than the south top (the true summit). This view shows the south-west cairn, looking towards the slightly lower north-east cairn.
Photograph taken: 22nd May 2018
There are two cairns at the north top of Mellbreak about 30m apart. The north-east cairn (NY 14323 19499) is shown here with the slightly higher south-west cairn (NY 14302 19468) in the distance. The north-east cairn has the best views and is almost certainly the one illustrated in Wainwright's guide.
Photograph taken: 14th May 2025
Mellbreak as seen from the sheepfold (NY 14038 17202) in Mosedale. In this view, it's clear to see why the north top has the best views. The ground falls away quickly whereas the south top is more dome-shaped.
Photograph taken: 14th May 2025

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Location map for Mellbreak (south top)

Wainwright top at Mellbreak (south top)

Context

Mellbreak (south top) is a Wainwright in The Western Fells area of the Lake District National Park.

Location

Grid Ref: NY 14843 18613
BNG e,n: 314843,518613
Lat/long: 54.555565,-3.318231
GeoJSON: [-3.318231,54.555565]
///W3W: dribble.flushed.topics
Feature: small cairn on exposed rock

Elevation

Height: 512m / 1,680ft
Drop: 260.0m
Rank: 168 / 214

Details

Locating Wainwright tops

It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that the Wainwright top is at the true summit of a fell. For many fells in the 214, this is not the case. Wainwright often chose a top because of its aspect or view rather than its height. This is what sometimes makes finding the Wainwright tops so confusing.

Locating a top is also complicated by the fact that features change over time. Cairns come and go, some grow and some shrink, fence posts are added or removed. Although the summit sketches in Wainwright's guides and the photographs in this guide are useful aids for identification, the features shown are subject to change, especially on popular fells. See Fleetwith Pike for an example of how cairns change.

Important: The accuracy of GPS on smartphones is ±5m at best but could be as much as 8m out. Please bear this in mind when using the location data.

Notes

The location data given here is for Wainwright's south top. However, this is probably the most uncertain of all the Wainwright tops. His guide is ambiguous, and there is little agreement between different authors about whether the Wainwright top is at the north summit or the south summit. The south top is used here because its grid reference is given in the third edition of the Wainwright guide (Mellbreak 1).

To make matters more confusing, there are two cairns at the north top about 30m apart, the higher south-west cairn and the slightly lower north-east cairn (NY 14327 19495). It is thought that Wainwright's sketch (Mellbreak 8) is of the north-east cairn. The smaller cairn at the south top, also sketched (Mellbreak 8), is not at the highest point. The true summit of the fell is unmarked and is about 75m to the north-east of the cairn.

When bagging Mellbreak, visit both tops, just to be sure.

North top (south-west cairn)

Grid Ref: NY 14305 19465
///W3W: postage.splinters.risky

Route planning

Fells

Hen Comb: 4.0km; 278m; 1hr 15min
Starling Dodd: 4.8km; 469m; 1hr 43min

Details

There are 2 viable routes from Mellbreak

The Wainwright guides indicate “ridge routes” from each fell and although this is useful, it doesn't always allow for effective route planning. The routes shown here are the Wainwright ridge routes (indicated with ) plus any other viable routes (indicated with ), not necessarily linked by a ridge. This list provides a more comprehensive network of potential routes that can be used when planning days out on the fells.

All routes have been plotted in the OS Maps app. The distance, ascent and time values are those given for the plotted routes. Time values are for moderately fit walkers without breaks. They should therefore be considered minimum values for the purposes of route planning.

Notes

Wainwright: “Mellbreak is itself a ridge, like the keel of an overturned boat (collapsed in the middle). It has no links with other fells.” Despite Wainwright's observation, Mellbreak can easily be combined with Hen Comb in a circular walk, starting and ending at Loweswater village. The walk could even be extended to incorporate Starling Dodd and Great Borne.

Classification

DoBIH No

2479

Local

Birkett, Fellranger, Synge, Wainwright

Birkett: Lake District hills over 1,000ft listed in Bill Birkett's Complete Lakeland Fells. There are 541 Birketts, 211 are also Wainwrights.
Fellranger: Lake District hills included in Mark Richards' Fellranger walking series, a set of eight volumes inspired by the Wainwright guides. There are 230 Fellrangers, 209 are also Wainwrights. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.
Synge: Lake District hills over 300m listed in Tim Synge's The Lakeland Summits. The book aims to list every significant summit over 300m in height within the National Park, 646 in total. It includes all 214 fells in Wainwright's Pictorial Guides, including Castle Crag at 290m.
Wainwright: Lake District hills included in volumes 1-7 of Wainwright's A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. There are 214 Wainwrights in all. This is a curated list, not based on height criteria.

National

Dewey, Dodd, Marylin

Dewey: Hills in England, Wales, and the Isle of Man that are at least 500m high and less than 609.6m (2,000ft) with a drop of at least 30m on all sides. There are 31 Wainwrights in this class.
Dodd: Hills in Scotland, England, Wales, the Isle of Man, and Ireland between 500m and 599.9m high with a drop of at least 30m on all sides. There are 29 Wainwrights in this class.
Marylin: British and Irish hills of any height with a drop of at least 150m on all sides. There are 39 Wainwrights in this class.

Notes

This is Mellbreak south top — the true summit. The 3m lower north top (south-west cairn) is at NY 14302 19468. Wainwright describes both tops and although he finds the north top to be “more attractive”, the grid reference in the chapter heading (added to the third edition by Clive Hutchby) is for the south top.

Mark Richards says, “Mellbreak has two summits…” and describes both; Bill Birkett agrees, as does Walt Unsworth. Tim Synge lists the south top and classifies the north top as “Nameless summit”. Stuart Marshall lists the north as being the Wainwright top but both Graham Uney, and Karen & Dan Parker list the south, although the latter concede that, “…it is impossible to say which of the two tops is the Wainwright”. Both tops are Birketts. Neither is high enough to be included in the Nuttalls list.

Geology

Bedrock

Kirk Stile Formation

BGS code

KST

Type

Sedimentary (marine)

Age

458.4 – 477.7 Ma

Period

Ordovician

Parent

Skiddaw Group

Details

Members, formations and groups

Member: A smaller unit of rock that shares common charateristics and features, often used in geology to describe specific layers within a formation.
Formation: A larger unit of rock that is distinct from other formations above and below. A formation may include two or more members.
Group: A stratigraphic unit that includes two or more associated formations that are usually contiguous or contain significant features in common.
Suite: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of the same type, lacking discernable stratification.
Complex: A geological unit containing intrusive, highly deformed, or metamorthic rocks of different types, lacking discernable stratification.

Notes

These sedimentary rocks are marine in origin. They comprise coarse- to fine-grained slurries of debris from the continental shelf flowing into a deep-sea environment, forming distinctively graded beds. They form thinly laminated to very thinly bedded dark grey siltstones and mudstones. They are underlain by the Loweswater Formation and overlain by the Eycott Volcanic Group.

Daylight

Tuesday, 9th June 2026

Daylight

17 hours 12 minutes

Dawn