Sale Fell and Ling Fell, Great and Little Mell Fells

Distance: 7.5 miles
Ascent: 850m
Weather: bright and breezy
Wainwrights ticked off today: 4
Wainwrights remaining: 15

With a good weather forecast for today, we decided to tick a couple more Wainwrights off our list. So after hearty breakfast (at which some of the other residents seemed a little more subdued than they had been making their way to bed after midnight last night - the walls of the inn here are remarkably thin) we headed off to Sale Fell and Ling Fell in the north-western fells.

We parked up a little lane near to Brunston Bridge and headed through a gate towards Kelswick Farm, where we zig-zagged (with superfluous zag) up the hillside. The green grassy path was pretty with harebells and tiny purple and white flowers, lots of buttercups and yellow tormantil. Quite suddenly we were at the top of Sale Fell (359m) where it was quite breezy, and headed along over to Dodd Crag and a knee-jarringly steep descent back to the lane.

We then headed over Brunston Bridge and up Ling Fell (373m); it was very warm on the sheltered side as we went up and less warm in the wind on the top. It was a clear day, and we had good views of the surrounding higher Fells. We returned down via the grassy Corpse Road, where there actually was a corpse, but thankfully just a vole.

The day was still fine and it was only early afternoon, so we decided to do the Mell Fells on the way home. Great Mell Fell (537m) is an unusual fell, with a lot of windswept trees on it (possibly larch) and long lush grassy meadow as there are no sheep up here. We then drove the short distance around to the other side of Little Mell Fell, parked up by the side of the road and took a short sharp path up to the top (505m). According to the route, there should be a less steep path contouring around more to come down by, but we either missed it or it isn't there on the ground, so after a bit of wandering around on the steep grassy slopes, lots of sheep here, we found the direct path again and followed that down.

Ling Fell from Sale Fell

Sale Fell from Ling Fell

On Great Mell Fell