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
For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
Mellbreak from the small parking space near Church Bridge
Looking back to Church Bridge, the Kirkstile Inn and St Bartholomew’s Church Loweswater
I follow the stony lane towards the foot of Mellbreak
Closer to Mellbreak
Looking to my left over Highpark to the foot of Grasmoor…
…and now looking back towards Low Fell and Lorton Vale
The track leads right into Mosedale but I leave it beyond the gate to climb up through the edge of Flass Wood
Looking down to Highpark, and a line of sheep along the wall keeping out of the sun on a very hot day
I follow the firebreak through the wood
A fellow walker on the right walking up the grassy path - the going gets tougher when the scree section is reached
Looking back to Loweswater village and sweet Lorton Vale
Loweswater and the hills of Scotland in the distance
The steep and loose path up the shoulder of Mellbreak
Heather coming into bloom as I look back to the Kirkstile, with Low Fell beyond
Crummock Water, Whiteside and Grasmoor
Loweswater again, with the Solway Firth and Scotland in the distance
In the words of Wainwright, “…a lovely peep around a corner…” to Crummock Water and Buttermere
Hencomb from the summit cairn on the north top
Loweswater
The true nature of the fell is revealed from here - not a pyramid as seen from the start, but a long (and sometimes squelchy) down and up to the south top
Looking back to the north top from the south top
Crummock Water, and Fleetwith Pike at the head of Buttermere
Rannerdale Knotts, Whiteless Pike and Wandope
Zooming in on Crummock Water and Buttermere
It’s an easy descent down the grassy slopes, initially in the direction of Scale Force between the trees
Crummock Water and Buttermere again on the way down
In order to avoid the steep crags of Scale Knott the path heads into lonely Mosedale for a short distance…
…and then turns sharp left near the foot of Hencomb
Walking round the foot of Mellbreak towards Crummock Water
I pass by an old sheepfold, shown on the OS map
The peninsula of Low Ling Crag
Fleetwith Pike
Low Ling Crag is a good vantage point - here looking towards Rannerdale
I follow the lakeshore path below the foot of Mellbreak
Looking back to Low Ling Crag and the head of Crummock Water
Low Fell
Whiteside and Grasmoor
Rannerdale Knotts
The boathouse nestling beneath Lanthwaite Wood
On a swelteringly hot day such as this, it’s an effort to make the short and simple climb around the foot of Mellbreak
One last look back along the lake
Heading inland now towards Low Fell and Darling Fell
Near Highpark
Highpark
I cross Park Bridge and turn left beyond it
From the bridge it’s a short stroll along this quiet lane to journey’s end
St Bartholomew’s Church Loweswater…
…and its next door neighbour - the Kirkstile Inn
Mellbreak towering over the Kirkstile
No photo exists of pint number 1 - it vanished in a nanosecond - so here’s one of pint number 2
