On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:49:28 +0000, Dave wrote:

When was the last time you booked a train ticket at the last moment? It
would cost her an arm and a leg to get home.

The train for the lower bit seems sensible. Say Portsmouth to Bristol
or Oxford(*) then get picked up from there. The motorways generally
stay open, if slow in bad weather and getting from Portsmouth to the
M4 line will be the A34 rather than motorway.

The OP doesn't say what he is driving and what sort of tyres he has.
Not that makes a lot of difference if there is no space to trundle
past stuck or low traction vehicles. 4WD and snow tyres I only have
problems when the snow depth is an inch or two up the front valence
ie approaching 18" deep and even then its a stall rather than loss of
grip.

(*) Donno if that is feasable on a decent train mind.

--
Cheers
Dave.