I've looked at commuting by train but not a viable option, especially for the early starts (even worse at weekends) as it would involve a change at Southampton every trip each way.

Easily adds around 4 hours travel time to every working day and thats if they're reliable (which they are not)

Car sharing and donating towards petrol will often work, but not guaranteed.

I wonder if it would be cheaper to book an intensive driving course and buy a car (capable of making the 80 mile round trip every shift) or renting nearby and buying a bicycle?

ATCNoob,

Just out of interest, how are you getting to the college? I seem to remember from my time there that public transport wasn't great.

CTF