Hi LeeG2002,
Dunno about the NPPL, there was some debate as to whether the 32 hours was really achievable, I took 63 to cover the PPL (45 minimum) so maybe it's not that big a difference. I'm not sure that you have to decide till you're well into your traininganyway.
I live in Harpenden and trained at Cranfield. It looks like the GBP85 per hour rate that I paid is still available too.
It took me 45 mins to get there if I avoided rush hour. There were a decent number of aircraft and instructors so not too many hold ups.
Cranfield Tower is a bot of a luxury since you get full ATC with controllers who understand that you're a student and might muck it up on occasion.
The only real downside is that when it's busy, you might be stuck at the hold for some time as people arrive and fly down the ILS. My examiner on my GFT was getting quite irate about this !
All in all Cranfield is a good place to train and if you have a problem at your chosen flying school, you can go to the one next door.
30.06