England · Lake District National Park

Mellbreak · Mellbreak South Top

WainwrightDeweyMarilynHuMPBirkettSyngeFellranger

5 classifications here — Marilyn, HuMP, Birkett, Synge and Fellranger — belong to lists OpenFell holds only part of, so they have no list page. See how far the coverage goes.

Mellbreak, 511 m, Cumberland
Mellbreak, 511 m, Cumberland. Photo via its Commons file page, CC0
Height
511.1 m · 1,677 ft
Grid reference
NY 14843 18613
Coordinates
54.55558, -3.31826
County / area
Cumberland
OS Landranger
89
OS Explorer
OL4S
Summit feature
flat rock
Key col
NY 1425 1737 (252.1 m)

About Mellbreak

Mellbreak stands apart in the western Lake District. Higher fells surround it on every side, yet it keeps its independence: three of those sides are moated by deep marshy ground, and the fourth drops to Crummock Water.

The relationship with the lake defines the hill. Mellbreak runs parallel to Crummock Water and falls sheer into it, which is why it so often appears as the backdrop in photographs of the lake.

Background written from facts in the Wikipedia article on Mellbreak (CC BY-SA 4.0). Heights, prominence and grid references come from the Database of British & Irish Hills, not from Wikipedia.

Access rights here

Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.

Permission needed Wild camping: Needs the landowner's permission — the Dartmoor commons are the only exception in England.

General position for England — local byelaws, seasonal restrictions and closures can override it. Full details: access rights in England ·check another location.

Daylight at this summit today

Sunrise
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Sunset
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Daylight
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Civil twilight ends
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Computed astronomically for 54.556, -3.318. Plan your finish with the daylight safety planner.

Summit weather live

Loading forecast for the summit (511 m)…

Forecast adjusted to summit altitude. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).

Finding the summit

Surveyor's note

cairn described by Wainwright no longer present but may have been on small rocky outcrop 55m S at NY 14839 18558 which is 1.3m lower; ground 10m E is of similar height.

The recorded summit point is flat rock. That distinction matters on broad or flat tops, where the obvious cairn is not always the true high point.

Survey method
Abney level
Record revised
03-Jun-24
Drop measured from
NY 1425 1737 · 252.1 m

Survey notes are field observations recorded in the Database of British & Irish Hills (v18.3, CC BY 4.0) by the hill-surveying community.

Get food nearby

3 places to eat or drink within 10 km of the summit, rated under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (Scotland runs its own Food Hygiene Information Scheme, a pass/fail equivalent).

Rated places to eat within 10 km of Mellbreak
PlaceTypeRatingDistance
The Kirkstile InnPub/bar/nightclub4 out of 52.4 km · N
The Wheatsheaf Inn (Cockermouth)Pub/bar/nightclub5 out of 57.4 km · N
Cumbria Kart Racing ClubRestaurant/Cafe/Canteen5 out of 58.2 km · W

Classifications and ratings are the local authority's own and can be coarse — this is a lead, not a guarantee of opening hours or that food is served to non-residents. Follow a name through to the official rating page to check, and confirm before you rely on it.

Food hygiene data from the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland (Open Government Licence v3.0). Distances and directions computed by OpenFell from the summit.

The Mellbreak group

One other listed summit sits in the same prominence group, with Mellbreak as the independent hill at its head.

Listed summits in the Mellbreak prominence group
SummitHeightDrop
Mellbreak North Top509 m63 m

Grouping is by prominence alone: a summit belongs to the nearest higher Marilyn it connects to without a deeper intervening col. Over a large massif that can gather hills no one would walk in a single day, and which few would describe as parts of the same mountain — it is a measure of independence, not a suggested route.

Nearest listed peaks

PeakHeightDistance
Mellbreak North Top509 m1 km
Hen Comb506.2 m1.7 km
Rannerdale Knotts355 m1.9 km
Starling Dodd633 m2.9 km
Grasmoor851.6 m3.2 km
Whiteless Pike660 m3.2 km