I was getting a bit impatient so I thought I’d give myself a bit of a test. Pym Chair to Shining Tor and back is just over four miles with a bit of up and down, but not too much. It was drizzling when I set out in the car but by the time I reached the Pym Chair car park it had cleared.
With a bit of trepidation, I set out, figuring I didn’t need to go all the way to Shining Tor if my leg started to feel uncomfortable. As it happens, it was fine. Hills always seem to energise me. Although I wasn’t quite up to my normal pace, I wasn’t too slow.
The last bit of uphill was a bit more effort than normal but all in all, pretty good. Just as I reached the trig point the cloud closed in. I sat down for a brief snack and then started back.
By now it was misty but no drizzle yet. With a flagstone path to follow, there was no route finding issues in the mist. As I reached the foot of Cat’s Tor a fine light drizzle started. It wasn’t far back to the car park, so I didn’t really get wet.
Overall, I was pretty pleased. Any discomfort was minor and transitory. The round trip took just under two hours, which is a bit slower than normal but I was taking care not to rush or trip. Next time I’m up here I might try a longer walk around Combs Moss, probably not the whole circuit though. Just maybe I will be up to doing a short backpacking trip mid September. Fingers crossed.
It’s been just over ten weeks since I hurt my SI joint and could hardly walk. I’ve been having weekly physio sessions and doing a series of exercises as well as taking naproxen anti inflammatory medication. I’ve made good progress. I’m nearly off the naproxen (one every other day) and there is no pain. I still have some discomfort in my glutes and leg but that is steadily diminishing. The exercises are definitely strengthening both my leg, hip muscles and core. I’m still being careful not to overdo it but I can walk for an hour with no real issues, just a bit of fatigue. I might try a very short experimental backpacking trip in a few weeks time. I want to take it gradually. Considering I could hardly walk ten weeks ago and seriously thought it was the end, I’m pleased. It shows the value of getting professional help.
I thought I’d give a quick update on this. I’ve had three physio sessions plus a visit to a doctor. The doctor put me on naproxen (a NSAID painkiller). Difficult to tell whether it’s effective or not. My physio has narrowed the issue down to tension in my piriformis muscle (muscle in hip/buttock) which is causing pain in my sciatic nerve. I thought the sciatic nerve only went down the back of your leg, but there’s a branch that goes down the shin to your foot too and that’s what is causing the problem.
The physio sessions and the exercises I’ve been given are aimed at releasing the piriformis muscle and alleviating the pressure on the sciatic nerve. The good news is I’m starting to see some positive results. I’m walking more freely, although not very far. During the day, the pain is more like a minor discomfort.
Unfortunately the pain starts to build mid evening and in bed it’s really bad, a bit like someone has kicked me in the shin. It means my sleep is quite broken and by about 5 o’clock in the morning I have to get out of bed. Strangely, once I’m up and about, the pain subsides rapidly. Besides painkillers and exercise, I’m also using a heat pad.
I’ve no idea how long this will last. Hopefully, the night time pain will start to go away soon as I really need a good night’s sleep. Hey, ho. All because I wasn’t careful in lifting something.
What’s your sacroiliac joint? It’s the joint that connects your upper body with your lower body. It doesn’t move very much but acts as a shock absorber. When you stress it through lifting or impact (like jumping), it can be painful.
Why am I telling you this? Because a couple of weeks ago, I injured my left sacroiliac joint through attempting to lift a heavy object. Back in 2013, I did a similar thing but not as severe. This time, I compounded it by tripping up and jarring it.
The next day, when I got out of bed, I had a searing pain in my left quadricep. It was agony, the worst pain I’ve ever felt by a long way. I could hardly walk. Late morning it was so bad I phoned a physiotherapist friend. She explained what it was and that, although very painful, it was treatable.
Although she doesn’t normally do home visits, she came to me next day. Going through the symptoms, she assured me I’d get better. After some fairly vigorous manipulation, the severe pain disappeared. It was still sore and a bit painful at times but much better.
The next couple of days, the pain fluctuated, but I was able to go to her for a second session. She reassured me that the joint wasn’t damaged and no nerves were involved. The main issue was related to the strain on the muscles and stiffness in my spine. I’ve been given some exercises to do.
It’s going to take some time to recover as I still can’t walk far and certainly can’t do any lifting. I’m going to have to be patient. I think it’s unlikely I’ll be able to go backpacking until the autumn. What is really annoying is that I’d lined up going to Dartmoor last week for four nights and the weather was fabulous. Hey, ho! The moral is don’t lift something heavy with the wrong technique and visit a physiotherapist as soon as you injure yourself.
Even in the sunny South it’s been cold. The middle of last week I went to unlock my Vellfire camper van and no joy. The battery was flat. I had to use the physical key to get in. I checked the vehicle battery with a battery tester and it was completely flat. After an email exchange with Wellhouse, I hooked it up to an outside plug point to recharge. However, the control panel claimed the battery was disconnected, so the hook up wouldn’t recharge it.
I had a battery jump starter from my old van but no joy. So I ordered a more powerful one (GREPRO 3000A) from Amazon. Next day I charged the GREPRO and then clipped it to the vehicle battery. I had to select the boost function but it started first time. I drove it around for an hour to give the battery some charge. It was still low, so I hooked it up to the mains again and left it on overnight.
By midday next day it was charged. I checked with my battery tester and it was charged to 100%. Also, the health of the battery was 100%, so I hadn’t ruined it. I switched the charge to top up the leisure battery which was a bit low too.
Lesson learnt. In low temperatures, hook it up to the mains to charge regularly. Apparently a number of other Wellhouse camper van owners had made the same mistake, which made me feel a little less stupid. In future I’ll check the vehicle battery level of charge more frequently.
I took advantage of a short weather window yesterday morning to walk from Pym Chair to Shining Tor (and back). It was wet underfoot but there’s a good path with flag stones most of the way. The wind was bitter. By the time I reached the trig point, the cloud had thickened. Half way on the return leg, I looked back and Shining Tor was under cloud, so I timed it right. It was good to get out, even if it was for an easy walk.
I’ve dealt with the base vehicle, so what about the conversion? Firstly, let’s talk about the experience with Wellhouse. This is the second camper van I’ve bought from them. In both cases they have been excellent people to deal with. Obviously this time, I had a bit more understanding of what I wanted.
David who runs Wellhouse and looks after sales was excellent. We ran through all the options from vehicle to conversion. He was informative without being pushy and we spent a good amount of time on the phone. After I had decided to order, he set up a WhatsApp chat with me so I could ask questions and he could keep me informed on the progress of importing the vehicle and the conversion.
I visited Wellhouse in Barnsley to inspect the vehicle before committing and paying the second instalment (the deposit is refundable if you don’t like the vehicle). From there on I had updates on the progress along with a couple of videos. When it was completed, I travelled up to Barnsley by train and I was collected at the station. I was then given a thorough run down and demonstration of how everything worked.
It was a bit nerve racking driving back as it has been a while since I’d driven my old Alphard, but it’s pretty easy to drive. In terms of the conversion I selected a few extras: new stereo, reversing camera (a must have), undersealing, Diamondbright paint protection, alarm/immobiliser, extra plug points (another must have), lithium leisure battery and a side awing rail (I don’t have a side awning but I thought it worthwhile just in case I get one).
The side conversion includes a double gas burner hob, a sink (there also water tanks for cold water and waste) and a top loading fridge. You can have a Dometic potty style toilet, but I didn’t want one. The side unit has a small drawer and some cupboard space. It’s enough for me, but there isn’t a huge amount of storage space. The passenger front seat swivels and there’s a pop up roof. The rear seat is a pull out bed, driven by an electric motor. There’s also a blown air heater which runs off the petrol tank. Wellhouse provides front black out screens, black out curtains (better than the old van) for the other windows and floor mats for both front and back. Theres also a solar panel as standard. You can see the full specs and options here.
For the side conversion I chose metallic grey with a butchers block top, which I think looks rather smart. I opted to have the colour of the rear seats charcoal rather than beige so they wouldn’t show the dirt (and I think they look better). The picture below shows the control for the blown air heater (top left) and the control and information panel (top right). The control panel is a great addition as it is the master control for the lighting (the individual switches are below), shows you the state of both the vehicle and leisure batteries. It controls the water pump and shows the outside temperature as well as the inside temperature and humidity. To the right of the light switches is the master switch for the fridge. At the bottom of the panel are the plugs. The other set are at the front end of the side unit.
The new fridge is larger than the one in my old Alphard which I think is 15 litres. It’s certainly big enough for me. I suppose there’s pros and cons to a top opening but it does free up some extra cupboard space and it’s a handy work surface. At the rear there’s a gas safety locker for the gas cylinder. If I was planning on cooking a lot, I would’ve had a Gaslow system but I couldn’t see the point as I generally just boil water with a kettle. If I was planning to do a lot of off grid camping it might be worth it to save exchanging gas bottles.
I think overall Wellhouse has done a good job of compromises. One observation is that the rear seat is not a deep as the old camper van and I wouldn’t want to travel far on it. I started to use the front passenger swivel seat as it is more comfortable when relaxing in the van.
The rear bench behind the seat is also narrower and not as useful as storage. I used to store a crate of various kitchen stuff plus sleeping gear on it in my old Alphard. Fortunately there is a useful small cupboard which can be accessed with the bed down for my sleeping gear. I reduced my kitchen stuff to fit a small crate which goes under the seat.
There’s a reasonable amount of storage under the seat/bed and there’s a door so you can access some of it without going into the boot. The tailgate is electric which is fun. Both the side sliding doors are also electric.
Returning to the fantastic service that Wellhouse gives, I broke electric bed motor. I wasn’t really my fault as the driver’s seat when pushed back fully (that’s electric too!) fouled the switch for the bed. As the bed is secured with a threaded knob to stop it opening in transit, the motor blew.
I took it back to Wellhouse and they replaced the motor with no quibbles. They also fitted an isolation switch so it can’t happen again along with a quick release pin so if the motor fails, I can pull out the bed manually. They are such good people to deal with!
I’ll probably do another post with some of the gear I’ve used with the van, some of it from my old van and some new. All in all I’m really pleased with it and recommend you have a look at Wellhouse if you are in the market for a small camper van.
Here’s a few thoughts about my Wellhouse Vellfire camper van. I’ll probably write another review when I’ve used it a few times. I’m splitting the posts to look at the base vehicle and then the conversion, otherwise it would be a long post.
The base vehicle is a 2009 Toyota Vellfire 3.5L V6 imported from Japan. It was low mileage with 47,350 miles on the clock (the odometer is actually in kilometres). It was in good condition (as most Japanese imports are) albeit with some minor scuffs in the interior. The exterior paintwork was restored to perfect condition and it was given a full service and any mechanical issues sorted out. It has a mechanical and conversion warranty of two years. It’s high spec with cruise control and electric doors and seats. I had new all condition tyres fitted.
As long time readers will know, I had a Wellhouse Alphard camper van from 2016 to 2020 (when someone crashed into it and wrote it off https://blogpackinglight.wordpress.com/2020/09/21/farewell-alphie/ ). That was the original version whereas this is the second version (the Vellfire is the same as the Alphard but with a different front end). My original Alphard was a 3.0l V6 4WD with a 4 speed automatic gearbox whereas the Vellfire is a 3.5L V6 2WD with a 6 speed automatic gearbox.
The Vellfire is definitely a step up in sophistication and driving experience which is largely down to the drivetrain. At higher speeds, the engine is revving lower, especially on the motorway. It is quieter, smoother and has more zip.
2WD versus 4WD doesn’t make much difference except pulling away on a steep slope where 4WD means less chance of wheel spin. The flip side is there’s less to go wrong and it probably helps on fuel economy. I have been surprised at how much better fuel economy has been.
In my old Alphard, I was getting around 23mpg on average. In the Vellfire on my trips so far it has averaged 29mpg with the best between fills of 32.5mpg (26.0mpg was the best in the Alphard). I think that’s pretty good for a heavy vehicle with a camper van conversion and a big engine. However, I’ve been very light on the accelerator pedal and mainly driving on motorways with cruise control set at 60mph.
The front seats are not as comfortable as my Volvo V40 but OK. It’s taken a fair amount of fiddling around to get it right. They are electric and have memory settings. The furthest back is OK for me, but I think it might get cramped for a tall person as the side conversion prevents putting the seat right back. The steering wheel is adjustable.
Visibility in the rear view mirror is not great as the rear seat head rests get in the way. However, the wing mirrors are pretty good and you can see vehicles behind unless they are tailgating you.
Like the old Alphard, the climate control is weird. It seems to be either hot or cold. The sliding doors and the boot are electric, although they can be made manual, which is useful at night as they beep when opening and closing.
Overall, it’s a really nice vehicle despite being fifteen years old. I much prefer the silver to white. I also think the Vellfire version is more attractive looking than the Alphard version (there’s no real difference other than appearance). There appears to be little or no difference in price for the different specs, so it’s worth being patient and getting the spec and colour that you want. I definitely think cruise control for motorway driving is worth having as it is more relaxing to drive.
I’ll do a post next on the conversion and my experience with Wellhouse.
Braithwaite – Newlands- Dalehead Tarn – High Spy – Maiden Moor – Braithwaite.
Day walk: 12.6miles, 820m ascent
Despite some challenging conditions in the middle of this walk, it was enjoyable and a good test of my fitness. It started out with the weather looking quite good. Although it was wet underfoot from the previous day’s rain (I was confined to my van for the day!), there was some blue sky. I followed the beck(s) to Little Braithwaite. Unfortunately the path beyond the bridge which follows Newlands Beck is closed so I had to follow the roads to Swinside and then Skelgill.
The clouds were building and there were a few spots of rain in the air but it looked as though it might clear. However, by the time I reached Skelgill, it became windier and there was a light drizzly rain, so I put on my overtrousers and Paramo Velez Adventure Light smock.
After Little Town the rain and wind picked up. The rain wasn’t particularly heavy but it was increasingly windy. Nevertheless there were occasional breaks and the possibility that it might clear.
By the time I reached the climb up to Dalehead Tarn, it was clear that the prospect of the weather improving was a mirage and the rain became more persistent. Just below the waterfall I spotted a couple of other walkers with dogs. When I reached them, they said they had decided to turn back, which I think was sensible given the gusty wind and wet and slippery path.
I debated whether to turn back but decided to go on. The waterfall was impressive with gusts of wind occasionally blowing the water sideways. It was slippery and steep with loose rocks to the side of the waterfall, so I took great care not to slip.
The top of the waterfall was a raging torrent. The path levelled out a bit but was still a bit tricky. In the main it was easier but still some sections where I needed to be careful.
Near the top, I decided not to go all the way to the tarn, but to cut up to High Spy. By now it was lunch time but there was nowhere to shelter, so I just had a couple of snack bars and a drop of water. I met a number of walkers coming down from High Spy (a couple wearing shorts!). I noticed that they were all wearing hard shells rather than Paramo and that their jackets had wetted out. In contrast, the rain drops on my Velez were beading up and the shell hadn’t wetted out at all. Smug factor ten ☺️.
Although it was still raining, the wind was now at my back, which made things a bit more pleasant. At the cairn on the summit I met another walker. We both lamented the inaccuracy of the weather forecast. From High Spy to Maiden Moor is a good relatively level track so I made good progress.
The path was very wet underfoot in places, but there were some dry spells and patches of blue sky. I decided not to bother going over Catbells but to cut back down to Skelgill.
There was still intermittent rain as I reversed my route of the morning back to Braithwaite. Looking back it still looked unsettled but by the time I reached Little Braithwaite there were only the occasional spots of rain.
Despite the weather, I really enjoyed the walk. I was glad that I chose to walk the ridge northwards as the wind had been at my back. I was pleased with my level of fitness as I didn’t feel particularly tired. However, that evening I could feel I was going down with a cold, so the next day I just strolled into Keswick for a few bits and pieces. The weather turned miserable in the afternoon, so I just chilled out in the camper van. All in all a good trip, despite the variable weather. As a bonus, I had no problems with my knees or my foot, which gives me some confidence.
Not much to write about here. A straightforward bimble from Hillcroft campsite to Bonscale Pike via Arthur’s Pike and back. The weather was cloudy and windy with a few spots of rain.
The main feature was the lovely views of Ullswater from the ridge and the moody skies.
Ullswater is my favourite lake with the contrasts of scenery and is vaguely mysterious with the bend in the lake preventing you from seeing whole lake in one go.
There was the odd patch of sunlight on the opposite shore but it never reached us. It was a very different walk from the previous day but enjoyable nonetheless.
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