Thanks for the replies so far.

It was seeing Sean Jones at Towersey that finally tipped me over the edge. Thanks for the link to the Bagpipe Society, a useful resource and the link for the tip on Dominic Allan. I've been in touch with Jon Swayne this morning and he has some of his starter pipes available almost immediately.

Fortunately, I know a few pipers, mainly on NSP but I'm sure they can help too.

Please keep the tips and advice coming.