HL, what was the cloud base like on the day? Were you above the clouds in your IFR flight?
As any IFR trained pilot will know, the difference between VFR and IFR can make a crucial difference, not only in the ability to get out of a situation (e.g. clouds in a valley) that would be a dramatic problem for a VFR pilot, but also in terms of the level of skill and education of an IFR trained pilot.