Tobster911,
What I would suggest is that you invest a day, or a couple of half-days in going up the M6 to Carlisle, then down to Blackpool. Have a serious look at the flying clubs at both places, try and make sure you talk to some instructors and customers, have a look at/sit in the aircraft, perhaps even have a half-hour trial lesson. You'll end up spending a couple of hundred pounds on trial flights, but it could be a worthwhile investment, as you'll see if there any particular aircraft/instructors you like or dislike. It's also all good experience and you can log it and count it towards the hours for a PPL, although being finished in less than minimums isn't a problem for most people.
Try not to get too bogged down with the headline hourly rate, there are other more important things to consider that can also have a big effect on the total cost to get your licence.
Do you get on with your instructor, because you're going to be spending a lot of one-on-one time with them? Are they full or part-time, how experienced are they? There are pro's and con's for both the older FI who's got loads of experience and been at it for years and the newer, younger guy who's waiting for an airline job, we shouldn't generalise, it's very much down to the individual.
Do you know what you want to do after you've got your PPL? Do you want to progress to a professional licence and fly for a living, perhaps tour the UK or Europe or potter round the Lakes on a sunny weekend. Consider how many seats you will want your aircraft to have, what range, how much all weather capability, what types of airfields/airstrips will you be using. These factors influence aircraft choice and you may find it beneficial to do your training in the kind of aircraft you'll be flying once qualified, rather than just going for the cheapest initially, then having to change as that adds to the total cost.
Do you want a NPPL or JAA-PPL, again this depends what you want to do once qualified, UK only or abroad, daytime or night as well, in reasonable weather only or with the capability to fly in cloud if needed.
Once you've decided where to go, what I would do is have 2 or 3 lessons every time you drive to the airfield, to make best use of the time and cost you've spent on the motorway and just spend the day at the flying club.
You will find quite a few organisations will offer better rates if you pay upfront for a block of lessons. There are a number of people on here who will tell you to run a mile from this type of scheme and they're not entirely wrong. However, I would say just be sensible and cautious, there are people who have seriously had their fingers burnt by paying up front, then the company going under. If you can get a good enough deal and pay by credit card, then if the worst does happen you'll at least get your money back eventually.
As to the weather issues, if you are going to be flying in the North of the UK, then that's the place you should be learning, so you get exposed to the weather with the safety of an instructor on board. Any reasonable club will let you call ahead for a weather check before leaving home. However becoming a pilot is not just about being in the aeroplane, there is plenty of stuff to do on the ground on bad weather days and there are also a few exercises in the syllabus that we tend to keep for "poor" weather days.
Flying has to be taken seriously as the consequences of not doing so can be severe, but you've also got to enjoy it because it's expensive. So don't bother too much about a couple of pounds a hour, find somewhere you like, that will do a good job that suits your needs.