This week I'll be mostly on the ferry

Welcome aboard the Hythe Ferry.

At ten minutes past six every morning, there's a clatter from the train as it trundles up around 600 yards of track to the end of the pier.  Five minutes later it clatters back, and on it goes, every twenty minutes until late in the evening.  It's a relatively interesting way to wake up; it's up there with sheep, church bells, Jersey cows and peacocks (Oakridge, The Rectory, The Croft and Bywood respectively); it's way more pleasant than the post train or crows (Old Stables and Oakridge).

I leave the house on the hour, or the half-hour.  No particular hour or half-hour, just whichever hour or half-hour takes my fancy.  Oh, the joys of flexi-time.  Five minutes' walk later - along the waterside, through the Grove Gardens, (past the Netherlands Consulate) - and I'm at the bottom of the pier.  I don't get the train (unless it's raining, or unless I'm a couple of minutes late).  Five more minutes walk later I'm at the end of the pier.  By which time the little old wooden train is clattering up behind me.  A minute or two later the ferry bumps against the mooring, and gets tied up by the first officer, who then gets off and checks the tickets.

Depending on the time of day, there's between half-a-dozen and around 30 passengers.  Depending on the weather and the number of passengers, I sit outside.  (Inside if it's a bit chilly, or it's raining, or the outside seats are taken.)  Depending on the tide, the ferry will reverse off the mooring or will already be pointing back up the estuary towards Southampton.  Depending on the shipping movements of the day, there will be a variety of cruise ships or cargo ships docked.

The container ships are straight up to the left as we potter across to Southampton Town Quay.  There are cranes and containers, and you can hear the clanking of big metal things being winched up and put down onto other big metal things.  On the right are the eastern docks where the roro (roll-on roll-off) ships are berthed.  Dockside, there are rows and rows of cars and tractors and the like, ready for loading onto the boats.

When any of the Cunard liners are in, they will also be over on the right, in the general vicinity of the QE2 terminal.  The P&O cruisers are further up at the Mayflower or Southampton Ocean terminals.  Your Fred Olsen, Saga and Celebrity lot seem to fit in around the others from what I can tell.

At some point on the ten minute trip across the water, the Red Jet is likely to go past.  The Red Jet goes like stink.  It does the Isle of Wight to Southampton in around the same time as the Hythe ferry trundles across from one side to the other.  It positively canes it past us, chucking out a hefty wake that makes our little ferry pitch about for a bit.  The ferry then pulls up to Town Quay pier, either 'handbrake' turning onto the mooring, or just pulling alongside, depending - you guessed it - on the tide.

My daily quarter-hour therapeutic nautical relaxation session is over.  Time now, for a bit of power-walking to Starbucks, and then on to bus stop.