End of an era

Pride of Bilbao arrived in Portsmouth for the last time this evening as P&O Ferries have axed the Portsmouth-Bilbao route, citing lack of profits and not being able to get a decent replacement ship as the reason - or were they just looking for an excuse to get out? Pride of Bilbao is an old ship, she has been hammered during her time here and her charter from Irish Ferries has just ended.
This is a massive shame on two fronts, firstly because it was a great route, both for a short cruise of 3 days and as a wildlife-watching platform to look for the seabirds, dolphins and whales which can be found in the Bay of Biscay and, secondly, because it means that, after many years, P&O Ferries have gone from the central south coast. They began as Townsend Thoresen (Thoresen Car Ferries) at Southampton and, now, after more than 40 years they are gone.
All is not lost, though, because Brittany Ferries, with their new(ish) Cap Finistere, are taking over the route. I hope that they can make a profit and aren't too expensive for foot passengers wanting to take a trip to sunny Spain.
Here are a couple of pics of both ships. Firstly a photo of Pride of Bilbao, taken in Portsmouth in 2005 and the next one is the new Cap Finistere, taken last week from Seaview.

Out with the old: Pride of Bilbao at Portsmouth, 2005

In with the new: Cap Finistere, photographed from Seaview last week