I'd realised a few days before that I'd bought a return ticket to Poole rather than Portsmouth. This was on the Brittany Ferries Normandie Vitesse. I'd booked this because I wasn't keen on rolling off into British road traffic in the dark. As it turned out, the ferry was still badged as "Condor Ferries" - presumably bought up by Brittany Ferries comparatively recently - but it was very quick, with a crossing time of 2h15.
Exiting Poole was a bit of a shock to the system after the gentle traffic we'd had in Normandy - but once out onto the motorway and A34 we rolled along OK, except for a major hold up due to an accident on the A34. The A34 becomes more monstrous in its traffic levels each time we use it. Astonishing to think that a few years ago we were still using it as a time trial course, albeit early on Sunday mornings.