Hi Beagle, thanks for the update.
I know it's not dificult to fly accross the UK VFR, the interest in the instrument rating more from the point of view of how i imagine I would fly, given the chance.
The two main factors against learning to fly for me are time and money. Whilst I would love to fly I need to square that with time spent with my wife and kids and the thousands of pounds learning to fly would buy a lot of family holidays!
If I could use my licence for, say, weekend trips away then flying has the potential to be a family activity rather than a selfish one. I think that it is probably harder to be sure of VMC for a full weekend, especially as you venture further from home. Of course, my family might not want to fly with me!
Still, since an instrument rating will not be possible then my answer is definately NPPL!