Originally Posted by
Piltdown Man
You probably made the right decision, but the question you posed was not really a safety question; it was a "minimums" question coupled with practicality. There is a big difference between safety and the other two. Whilst in no way condoning such behaviour I'll suggest that you can fly just on the illegal side of VFR quite safely. Not surprisingly, the further you depart from legality, the closer you become to being in a dangerous position. The legal minimums grant a reasonable amount of fat but flying illegally means you may have eroded the margins to such a point that you could be within seconds of a real problem. Inexperience means you may not appreciate how far you have strayed from VFR minimums once you start busting them. Speaking from experience I can tell you that is really unpleasant when the weather starts closing in around you. And then there is common sense and practicality aspect. You can often legally depart but later you find that the weather enroute prevents you from reaching your destination. Providing you have done your planning properly, an enroute diversion or a return to your point of departure may be your only choice; inconvenient but perfectly safe. We can see from your posts that you were in no way intending to bust the law or fly in weather below your minima, but please don't confuse safety with minimums, common sense and/or practicality. It is a shame the utility of a basic PPL is quite limiting this time of year in the U.K.
As for your decision, it can only be viewed with hindsight. What matters is that you made one based in the information available and were not tempted to give it a go when you thought you might not end up with the right outcome. For that you are to be commended.
PM
The weather later in the day was perfect! Fexibility, good planning and good judgement are key safety factors in planning any flight in a light aircraft in the UK.
However, what concerns me more is using PPrune as a forum to make this sort of decision. If your experience is such that you need flight planning advice, you need to find a well qualified and experienced mentor to help you.