Mellbreak

The superb Mellbreak

Height: 512m (1,680ft)

Prominence: 260m (853ft)

Region: Western Fells

Classifications: Marilyn, Dewey, Wainwright, Birkett

Summit feature: Small cairn

Times climbed: 1

Related trip report:
The Loweswater Five - 08/05/2016

Mellbreak's summit and view towards the Buttermere ridge

What Wainwright said:

"From Kirkstile, at the northern foot, the gable of the fell assumes the arresting outline of a towering pyramid; suggesting a narrow crest, but the top widens into a considerable plateau having two summits of almost equal height separated by a broad saddle".

Mellbreak, despite being surrounded on all sides by higher fells, stands in isolation. It is surrounded on three sides by a "moat" of deep marshy land, and on the east side by the lake of Crummock Water.

Mellbreak's name is derived from differing sources: the Celtic "moel", meaning "bare hill", and the later Old Norse of the Vikings, "brekka", which means a hill slope.

A popular route up the fell is a path from the village of Loweswater, that threads its way between the crags and rocky outcrops on the north side. Although the south top is slightly higher, at 512m it is the north top that is the better summit, being rocky and situated on the top of the crags that make up the north face of the fell. Both carry cairns, that of the true summit being on grass.

The views are good from both summits, a consequence of Mellbreak's isolation and great relative height.

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