There And Back Again

That phrase is Tolkein's subtitle for The Hobbit. It is also a succinct description of the Travels Of The Supply Teacher. My current job is daily, every morning till Christmas. That is predictable, and manageable. It does mean I work every Tuesday morning [Bob's day off] but we still manage to get part of the day to relax together. I cannot say anything about what I am doing, because I have just one pupil and confidentiality must be maintained. The work is enjoyable, but challenging. We are together from 9-11am.
However, I can tell you about my daily commute. It is horrible!!
I am working in a school about 7.5 miles away in Poole. My Satnav cheerfully predicted a route, and declared it to be 24 minutes. Now I am aware, after almost 4 years here, that to get into Poole or Bournemouth in the morning means negotiating heavy traffic. There is nobody else available to look after my pupil if I am not there on time, and the person who brings the child to school cannot stop. So I need to get there in good time.

Day One - I left at 7.45 - and arrived at 8.35. Almost an hour in heavy traffic, much of it stationary. And an incredibly busy but boring route.

Day Two - 7.30-8.25 - not really much better. Day Three - similar. However, if I take the same route in the reverse direction at 11 am, I am always home before 11.30. 
I checked the SatNav again - it offered a second route. This was further - 9.5 miles, but again allegedly 24 minutes. It was via the dreaded Canford Bottom Roundabout. This traffic fiasco is as grim as it sounds. 
Built for the 2012 Olympics, to enable sportspersons and fans to get from the main stadium in London to the Watersports events in Weymouth, through the bottleneck that is the A31.
It has 14 lanes onto the roundabout, 9 off it, and seventy traffic lights. It was nicknamed The Hamburger because seen from the air it looks like a Big Mac! Many confused drivers panic like scared rabbits  - and there are constant bumps and shunts and generally long queues at every entry point.
Yet again I was spending between 45 and 60 minutes on my journey, but the route was much prettier, past fields covered in morning mists and alongside the woods in Merley and Canford. I could watch the trees changing through their autumnal colours as I bypassed Wimborne.

Then I had a conversation with one of the staff in the school office. She used to live in Ferndown [two streets from me] and she kindly suggested a middle route. This has proved the best of all- - approximately 8.5 miles, passing the beautiful Arrowsmith Coppice.
This route is the best of all. I cannot avoid the initial 2 mile crawl from my house - but after that, the route is steady and traffic is manageable. And the colours are lovely!
My best time thus far has been 28 minutes, and worst 40. At one point, we descend Gravel Hill, and pass the prestigious Poole Grammar School. Here the BMWs, Mercs and Volvos pull into the layby to disgorge the strapping young lads who attend this august academy [as yet I have not seen any boys on bicycles!**] Then on to the edges of Poole, across another couple of roundabouts and I am there at my destination. An ordinary junior school. 
This is the route I am sticking to now. I dare not leave any later in case I do not get to school on time - but as I have to have everything prepared before I set out, there is nothing pupil-related to do on arrival. I cannot waste time just waiting- so I have started a 'two-bag' system. One bag contains all my school stuff, the other has 'odd jobs'. So I have written letters, sewn up knitted angels, prepared labels for play costume coathangers, prepared lists and written draft documents for editing later. 

The motto of PGS is finis opus coronat - "the end crowns the work - the goal gives value to the labour that produced it"
I don't know whether to apply this tag to all the odd jobs which are getting done between 8 and 9am, or to the progress I am making with my pupil between 9 and 11am.
I don't pretend to enjoy getting up so early every morning, but I am beginning to get into a routine. As I drive I listen to Chris Evans on Radio 2. Radio 4 and the interminable Brexit/Trump/politics discussions do not put me in a good frame of mind - and Classic FM is so very soporific, I am afraid I shall doze off.
Do you commute? is it always the same route? Does it take long?
And how do you travel - car, bike, public transport, or walk?
**Jon has suggested if it is only 8 miles, I might consider cycling to school myself. I argued that [a] it would take me 40 minutes pedalling and 20 minutes recovery time and the return trip is mostly uphill [b] some of the roads are not very cyclist friendly [c] I have to transport all my teaching materials each day [d] it is cold and wet and I am a wimp.