I would expect, "climb xxxx thousand feet, report when level, report at the beacon to hold at xxx thousand feet."
Once in the hold, ATC knows where you are. Then onward clearance for the procedure.
That is exactly what I would expect. At Glasgow, say arriving VFR, ask for an IFR clearance from approach. Nine times out of ten, no issues, climb to say 5000, go to hold, or vectored out for the approach you require, either VOR, ILS, or NDB/DME.
In my experience, most ATC units are pretty accommodating of these requests.