Little Mell Fell Hike - G/LD-037 SOTA (2021)
Summits on the Air Activation Report
Activation Date: Tuesday 1st June, 2021.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Little Mell Fell, Lake District, England.
Summit ID: SOTA reference G/LD-037 (2 points).
Summit Height: 505m elevation, 226m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 54.60802, -2.89447. Maidenhead Grid IO84no.
Distance: 1.2km travelled with 125m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T1.(?)
Elapsed Time: 40m (including operating).
Weather: 25°C, 12 mph ENE wind, 52% humidity.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: M1HAX/P.
Contacts: 6 (2m FM).
Trip Notes
Little Mell Fell is a modest yet distinct hill located in the northeastern Lake District in England. Standing at 505 metres, it forms a pair with its neighbour Great Mell Fell, both being outliers from the main Lake District massif. Both fells offer excellent panoramic views despite their relatively modest height.
Having already activated Blencathra earlier in the day, I continued my Lake District SOTA trip with this straightforward summit. Little Mell Fell offers a perfect contrast to the more challenging Blencathra - it’s an easy walk that can be completed quickly while still offering rewarding views.
There’s convenient roadside parking for several cars on the minor road to the south of the summit. The parking area is easy to locate, as is the distinctive rounded top of Little Mell Fell which is clearly visible from the road.
From the parking area, I followed obvious footpaths heading north directly up the grassy slopes to the summit. The ascent is short and easy, gaining about 125 metres vertically over the 600-metre approach.
At the summit there is an old stone trig point which makes for a good operating position. The open aspect provides good VHF/UHF radio propagation in all directions, and I was able to make six contacts on the 2-metre band while enjoying the excellent views in the sunny, warm weather.
The summit affords panoramic views across to Blencathra in the west, the Pennines to the east, and Ullswater to the northwest. On a clear day like this, the visibility was exceptional.
After completing my radio operation, I descended back down to the car via the same route. The entire activation, including the hike and radio operation, took just 40 minutes from parking to return.
This is a quick and easy 2-point summit which is well worth a visit, particularly when combined with nearby Great Mell Fell or other Lake District summits. It’s also excellent for newcomers to SOTA or when time is limited.
Photos
Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Little Mell Fell on Tuesday 1st June, 2021.
Walking Route for Little Mell Fell
The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Little Mell Fell. The G/LD-037 summit area is marked on the map with a blue pin icon.
You can download the route shown above as a GPX file suitable for use with most GPS devices. This file is provided for information only, to support your own walk planning and research (it may contain navigation errors, detours and/or safety hazards). The route downloads provided here are governed by the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Station Log
I logged the following 6 amateur radio contacts operating as M1HAX/P from G/LD-037 Little Mell Fell on Tuesday 1st June, 2021 (all times shown are UTC):
| Time | Callsign | Band | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:19 | G0TDM | 2m | FM | John, 5/9 |
| 14:22 | M6ZAK/M | 2m | FM | Andy, 5/9 |
| 14:22 | G4WHA/M | 2m | FM | Geoff, 4/4 |
| 14:23 | M0YMC | 2m | FM | Mal, 5/9 |
| 14:24 | G0PMJ | 2m | FM | Dave, 5/3 |
| 14:26 | GM3OXK | 2m | FM | Jack, 5/3 |
In the notes field I will usually log the other operator’s name and the signal report they provided. In accordance with the Summits on the Air rules, I do not make a log entry where a complete exchange of callsigns and signal reports was unsuccessful.
Additional Information
The following resources may be helpful to walkers, mountaineers and SOTA activators interested in Little Mell Fell:
- Sotl.as Summit Page for G/LD-037 Little Mell Fell.
- Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Little Mell Fell.
- Google Earth view of Little Mell Fell.
- Wikipedia entry for Little Mell Fell.
- 360° Panorama near summit of G/LD-037 Little Mell Fell.
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