A few lines to share our experience of catching an early [for us!] ferry from Portsmouth. We were en route to Santander via the 08.15 sailing on a Sunday. Decided to put the cats in their holiday home first thing Saturday and spend a bit of time in Portsmouth. Research showed a park and ride opened this year. Excellent facility! No problem parking 'vans of pretty much any length - room for overhang around the outside parking spaces, and even if you needed two spaces, doubling the fee of £3 didn't seem excessive. It's a doddle to get to from the motorway. The parking fee includes travel to/from town for your group, allowing you to get on and off where you like, and use it as often as you like. We did some shopping, took it back to the van, then went back in for a meal. The last bus back at weekends is 10.30, with the site barriers coming down at 11.00. We left around 10.30, trundled down to the docks, where we had absolutely no difficulty parking up for the night [hi-viz man was unexpectedly welcoming]. Altogether a relaxing start to our holiday. Highly recommended.