Doug, I don't know how UK prices compare with US prices but you're probably looking at £500 for a fiddle and another £500 for a bow, assuming you buy them commercially. Typically a good bow costs as much as the fiddle for which it's intended.

A cheaper option, also more fun, if you have the time is to spend some time in research learning everything you can about violins and bows and how to judge them. Here in the US Heartland, violin makers are often happy to spend time explaining how fiddles are judged and what features are most critical. Talk to makers, dealers, symphony players and fiddlers and don't make any committments until you have all the information absorbed.

Once you are armed with information, place a small ad in the local newspaper indicating that you are looking for old violins. In the US a lot of people have old violins lying about the house with no one to play them or attest to their value. It may be quite possible to find a great fiddle for £50 or less, but you have to know what you are looking for. Remember, you may not have the opportunity to play the instrument because its owner may not have strings or even a bridge for it. When you make an offer, don't offer any money for the bow. Assume that the bow will be included for nothing.

Once you get your new fiddle set up to play, spend time listening to it and playing it. You may decide that it's not what you want; in that case, just sell it for a profit as a working instrument. Once you have the fiddle you're sure you want, then go looking for a bow. It's unlikely you'll find a decent bow hiding in someone's attic but even if you should, you don't want to buy a bow you haven't heard playing on your new fiddle. Attic bows usually have no hair so you can't try them out. Even if they're free, or nearly so, you still can't tell what you've got until you've paid for an expensive re-hairing.

There have been quite a few threads here on buying fiddles and bows over the years so search the archives for more tips.

Good luck,

      - Mark