Yep I too did my IR at Stapleford and while I've got nothing against them personally there's no way I'd do the same again for one simple reason ... the airspace around the south east!
Comparing the freakin nightmare I had on test day (I got the normal CFD-CAM-CFD, but had an absolute nightmare with controllers, first of all in the airway en route to cambridge getting sent about in all directions before even getting to CAM expecting the ILS, and THEN having to carry out about 6 unscheduled laps of the NDB hold at CAM with the examiner watching every one
) I was so knackered by the time I even got onto the ILS I very nearly lost it altogether. If you speak to the IR candidates who've gone and done their tests out of there they just about all have some similar horror story to tell.
Comparing that to some of the stories of people who've done their tests up in Scotland or over the west country and it just sounds like a breeze by comparison.
Yes the IR instructors at STL are very very competent (is Eric STILL there by the way?) and I'm sure so are the instructors at the other Cranfield based schools, but they would have to be in my opinion, to get their students through the massive disadvantage they're at by virtue of their location.