Mark,
I can't really suggest where you might want to go to build that solo time, but there have been a regular series of free landing vouchers in mags such as Pilot and Todays Pilot. Why not use one of them?
My occluded front question was a bit different. It concerned the types of weather you could expect to experience when flying towards and through it. The answer my instructor (and I) went for was pretty much anything and everything, but the CAA had a far more subtle correct reply!
Paul