Meal Fell: 549.4m Height, Walks and Summit Views

Meal Fell belongs to the quieter, grassy country behind Skiddaw, where rounded summits and open slopes replace the crags of the central Lakes. At 549.4m, it is a modest Wainwright, but its position between Great Cockup and Great Sca Fell gives it a distinct place in the landscape. The steep-sided gap of Trusmadoor and the stone summit shelter add character to a fell often visited as part of a longer round.

A grassy fell above Trusmadoor

Meal Fell stands among the Uldale Fells, in the western part of the Northern Fells. Its rounded outline is typical of this country: broad expanses of grass, relatively little exposed rock and neighbouring summits linked by open ground. Yet it is not simply an indistinct rise on a ridge. The ground drops sharply towards Trusmadoor, the narrow pass separating it from Great Cockup to the west, giving that side of the fell a stronger profile.

Trusmadoor is one of the area's most recognisable landscape features. Its enclosed shape makes a marked contrast with the open slopes above it, and it helps explain why Meal Fell is more memorable on foot than its modest height might suggest. A substantial stone shelter is another distinguishing feature of the summit area, offering a clear landmark amid the surrounding grassland.

Height, position and summit views

The Database of British and Irish Hills records Meal Fell at 549.4m, or 1,802ft, with a summit grid reference of NY283337. It ranks 150th by height among the 214 Wainwrights. Great Sca Fell rises to the east, while Great Cockup lies across Trusmadoor to the west. Brae Fell and Longlands Fell are other nearby Wainwrights within the same compact group.

The outlook is shaped by these neighbouring fells rather than by a foreground of lakes or dramatic rock faces. Skiddaw provides a much larger presence to the south, contrasting with the gentler forms around Meal Fell. This is a summit for appreciating the structure of the northern landscape: the folds between ridges, the breadth of the grassy slopes and the way individual tops fit together. Clear visibility brings out those relationships especially well.

Meal Fell in the Northern Fells

Meal Fell appears in The Northern Fells, Book Five of Alfred Wainwright's Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. It represents a different side of that volume from the higher, more rugged ground of Skiddaw and Blencathra. Here, the interest lies in a group of smaller summits that can be combined into varied fell walks.

Walks including Meal Fell commonly take in some of its neighbours, making it a natural part of a Uldale Fells round rather than an isolated objective. Its appeal needs no celebrated climbing crag or lakeside setting: Trusmadoor, the summit shelter and the surrounding open country give this small fell an identity of its own.

Where Meal Fell stands

Summit at grid reference NY283337 · open full map

The real Meal Fell

Walking Meal Fell

We make artwork, not route guides — these are the guides we'd point a friend to:

• Guide links to be curated.

Weather on Meal Fell

Conditions estimated at summit height (549 m) via Open-Meteo. For a walker's forecast, use the Mountain Weather Information Service.

Meal Fell on your wall

A painting of Meal Fell can bring a quieter part of Lakeland into a room: rounded ridges, open grassland and the changing colour of the northern fells. For anyone who knows Trusmadoor or has paused at the summit shelter, those simple shapes carry particular memories.

Own “Vibrant Slopes of Meal Fell” — our painting of Meal Fell → or browse all Fells & Mountains artwork

Neighbouring Wainwrights in The Northern Fells

• Great Sca Fell 651 m
• Brae Fell 586 m
• Great Cockup 526 m
• Longlands Fell 483 m

Part of our guide to all 214 Wainwrights — see the full index.