Little Mell Fell
Encyclopedia
Little Mell Fell is a fell
Fell
“Fell” is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of northern England.- Etymology :...

 in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 Lake District
Lake District National Park
The Lake District National Park is located in the north-west of England and is the largest of the English National Parks and the second largest in the United Kingdom. It is in the central and most-visited part of the Lake District....

. It is an outlier of the Eastern Fells
Eastern Fells
The Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Centred on Helvellyn they primarily comprise a north south ridge running between Ullswater and Lakeland's Central Valley.-Partition of the Lakeland Fells:...

, standing to the north of Ullswater
Ullswater
Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being approximately nine miles long and 0.75 miles wide with a maximum depth of slightly more than ....

. Two miles to the north west is Great Mell Fell
Great Mell Fell
Great Mell Fell is a hill in the Eastern Fells of the English Lake District. It is a north-eastern outlier of the Helvellyn range, but, like its twin Little Mell Fell, is isolated from its fellows, standing in the middle of a flat plain...

, often thought of as its 'twin'.

Topography

In common with its slightly higher sibling, Little Mell Fell presents as a rounded dome with fairly steep grass slopes, and is relatively isolated from other fells. Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright
Alfred Wainwright MBE was a British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator. His seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells, published between 1955 and 1966 and consisting entirely of reproductions of his manuscript, has become the standard reference work to 214 of the fells of the...

 in his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells
A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells is a series of seven books by A. Wainwright, detailing the fells of the Lake District in northwest England...

described it as "an uninspiring, unattractive bare and rounded hump- the sublime touch that made a wonderland of the district overlooked Little Mell."

Unlike Great Mell Fell however, it does have one visible connection to other fells. Due south from the summit is The Hause, a narrow col crossed by a minor road. From here a ridge of high ground swings south west, running parallel to the shore of Ullswater until it culminates at Gowbarrow Fell
Gowbarrow Fell
Gowbarrow Fell is a fell in the English Lake District. It is an outlier of the Eastern Fells, standing to the north of Ullswater and above the famous Aira Force waterfall.-Topography:...

. There are a number of intermediate tops along the way, including Great Meldrum (1,433 ft) Little Meldrum (1,325 ft) and Watermillock Common (1,391 ft, unnamed on Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...

 maps).

Little Mell Fell also manages to send a short grassy spur out to the north west. Between this and the main body of the fell is the source of Thackthwaite Gill, a tributary of Dacre Beck and, ultimately, of the Eden. The fell has a few tiny areas of broadleaved plantation, but otherwise is bare, the lower slopes being parcelled up into fields for agriculture.

Notices indicate the presence of adders on the fell.

Summit and View

The summit carries an OS triangulation column and provides views of the lower reach of Ullswater. The mountain panorama takes in much of the Eastern
Eastern Fells
The Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Centred on Helvellyn they primarily comprise a north south ridge running between Ullswater and Lakeland's Central Valley.-Partition of the Lakeland Fells:...

 and Far Eastern Fells
Far Eastern Fells
The Far Eastern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Reaching their highest point at High Street they occupy a broad area to the east of Ullswater and Kirkstone Pass. Much quieter than the central areas of Lakeland they offer in general easier but less exciting walking as the...

, but the view is robbed of foreground by the gentle curvature of the grassy summit.

Ascents

Minor roads surround the fell on all sides but The Hause, blessed with parking spaces, is the usual setting-off point for one of the easiest ascents of a Wainwright. Cove Camping Park to the south east provides another alternative for a pathless ascent, as does Thackthwaite
Thackthwaite
Thackthwaite is a village in Cumbria, England, from which hikers can climb Low Fell and Fellbarrow.A second place called Thackthwaite is located just to the north of Little Mell Fell, at ....

in the north, following Thackthwaite Gill. Public access through Thackthwaite has however been a source of recent dispute with residents.
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