The Western Fells completed again, on walk 212

WALK 212: Mellbreak (1,680′, no. 323 of my second round). 6.75 miles, 1,500 feet of ascent.

Mellbreak, seen over Crummock Water.

Wainwright says the following, in the Mellbreak chapter of volume 7:

There is, of course, a natural affinity between mountains and lakes; they have developed side by side in the making of the earth… The best example of this is provided by Wast Water and the Screes, and perhaps next best is the combination of Mellbreak and Crummock Water, essential partners in a successful scenery enterprise, depending on each other for effectiveness.

The steep sides and relative isolation of the fell mean that doing it alongside any other Wainwrights on the same walk would add a lot to the effort required, something I discovered 11 years ago on walk 67. So it was always going to be done on its own this second time round. But I also didn’t want to travel all the way to Loweswater to just nip up and down it, either.

But that’s the point of including the quotation; to illustrate that one doesn’t have to pair it with another mountain to get a good walk — instead, I added the shoreline path along the west side of Crummock Water as an excellent prelude. On a cool, sunny morning, the views were magnificent and the walk well worth doing. Read all about it on the walk 212 page, which has more detail and the usual crop of photos.

Crummock Water, and Rannerdale Knotts.

Mellbreak also becomes the final fell to be (re)bagged in volume 7, The Western Fells. Five of the eight volumes are now recompleted — the remaining three are the Southern, Central and Northwestern Fells.

As of today, I have bagged 323 of the 330 Wainwrights on my second round, so have 7 to go. They split into either three or four walks, depending on whether I combine Esk Pike with Great End or do them separately. Finishing before the end of 2023 is not out of the question but it depends on good weather forecasts on crucial days, so we’ll see how it goes. But as long as nothing untoward happens, January 2024 should see me finish off this second round.