There is no night VFR in the UK all night flying is IFR.
Exactly so.
Unless you have an IR you cannot legally file an IFR flight plan since you would have to land from an instrument approach.
Is this so? I don't believe it is (in the UK at least). As a non-imc, non-IR holder, I can file and fly an IFR flightplan.
I'm not allowed in certain airspace, and I'm not allowed to receive the sort of radio service which might oblige me to fly into IMC, but provided I remain VMC I can fly under IFR.
Does one 'have to' land from an instrument approach at the end of an IFR flight? And what's to stop me from landing from one, unqualified, provided I'm in VMC?
Steve R