Ramp (or wind tunnel) to the pontoon

At 8am on a cold Feb morning this is the last place you want to be. Low tide pulls the ramp down to a 45 degree slope and an icy north wind is howling up here like a hurricane. I'm first in the queue today, worth it if only to get a front seat. Looking forward to a bouncy ride over the Hythe stretch of the River Test, to be made all the more unpleasant by the sickly aroma of juicyfruit chewing gum, mindless converstions and grating ringtones. Ear buds in and turn up the music I think.

Sunrise towards the Isle of Wight

Hythe Pier

Ferry or car?

7:45am first decision...

Ferry is 3 miles as the crow flies and involves a 1.5 mile drive to the village car park, 1200 paces up a windswept and crumbling Victorian pier (or a dangerous rattly pier train ride), 15 minutes pitching and rolling across Southampton Water on a glorified tug and a further 1000 paces to The Office. Cost £4.00

Car is 11 miles of first gear, stop/start queuing and frustration, parking at Leisure World Cinema and Club Complex then 1400 paces to The Office. Cost £6.00 (petrol £3.00/parking £3.00).

Car wins today, but only just. Cost is not a factor in the decision. The real choice comes down to comfort, personal space and traffic jams versus today's weather, hassle and unpredictable ferry delays. See, its a fine judgement each day.

CD player in the car versus MP3 player on the ferry. Oh, I won't go on...

Wrong choice today though. Transco had dug a giant pit in the A35 at Regents Park resulting in lane closures and gridlock. Managed to cross 3 lanes and hop off at Millbrook to skirt the roundabout as the flyover was at a standstill. Must have leap-frogged a few hundred places but the damage was already done. Journey of 11 miles took 65 minutes. Nice relaxing start to the day!