Meal Fell is a small 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 northern region

Northern Fells

The Northern Fells are a group of hills in the English Lake District. Including Skiddaw, they occupy a wide area to the north of Keswick. Smooth sweeping slopes predominate with a minimum of tarns or crags...

 of the English Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

, it is situated seven kilometres south west of the village of Caldbeck

Caldbeck

Caldbeck is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale, Cumbria, England. Historically within Cumberland, the village had 714 inhabitants according to the census of 2001. It lies on the northern edge of the Lake District. The nearest town is Wigton, 6 miles north east of the village...

 and is one of the four main Uldale Fells (the others being Longlands Fell

Longlands Fell

Longlands Fell is a small fell in the northern part of the English Lake District. It is situated in the high ground known as the Uldale Fells, 5.5 kilometres south west of the village of Caldbeck...

, Great Cockup

Great Cockup

Great Cockup is a fell in the northern region of the English Lake District, one of the four Uldale Fells .- Description :...

 and Great Sca Fell

Great Sca Fell

Great Sca Fell is a fell in the English Lake District, it stands seven kilometres southwest of the village of Caldbeck and is the highest of the four Uldale Fells .-Topography:...

).

Topography

Meal fell reaches a height of 550 m (1,804 ft) and although it is largely grassy and smooth like the other Uldale Fells it does have a stony summit with patches of scree

Scree

Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...

. Bill Birkett

Bill Birkett

Bill Birkett is one of the world's foremost mountain writers and photographers, and is a leading climber who has undertaken many expeditions around the world....

 in his book "The Complete Lakeland Fells" speculates that the summit could possibly have been a small hill fort

Hill fort

A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...

 in ancient times, saying:

“Around it’s summit rock outcrop it appears that the ground has been quarried away … the quarrying seems to extend in a full circle around the summit knoll. Could this be the remains of another hill fort along the lines of Carrock Fell

Carrock Fell

Carrock Fell is a fell in the English Lake District, situated in the northern region of the national park 13 kilometres north east of Keswick. The fell's name means "Rocky Fell" and comes from a combination of the Old Welsh language with the word "carrec" meaning rock and the Old Norse language...

 ?”

Meal Fell is linked to Great Cockup to the west by the pass of Trusmadoor, a place described by 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...

 as the “Piccadilly

Piccadilly

Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...

of sheep in that locality” to the east Meal Fell is connected by a ridge to Great Sca Fell.

Ascents

The fell is usually climbed directly from the minor road to the west of the Uldale Fells with the hamlets of Orthwaite and Longlands the favoured starting points. Both of these walks approach the fell through the valleys although most walkers will climb Great Cockup first before arriving at Meal Fell and then go on to other fells in the area.

View

The view from the top of the fell is restricted inland by higher fells and the best prospect is north west towards the sea.