Thanks for the replies guys (& girls?). One further question though on Fly Stimulators point about IFR. Am I allowed to file an IFR flight plan on just a basic PPL? I know nothing about IFR procedures or instrument approaches (nothing official at least!) so how can I fly IFR?
Or do you just mean VFR but with reference to the instruments and radio nav aids?
Just for info, my main reason for doing the IMC would be so that I can still fly on the decidedly marginal VMC days we often have here in the winter. It's frustrating leaving home in VMC and getting to the airfield only for the cloud to have thickened enough to preclude flying.