Greetings Paul,
Welcome to you from your neighbours of the Manchester Group.
Assuming from the title of your Post you are in the Blackpool area, you therefore have relatively easy access to a number of Groups all of whom you will find most welcoming. If you follow the link then you should find the contact details of those that you might be interested in;
http://www.trf.org.uk/find-your-regional-group/If you have not already made a purchase then I would recommend that you hold fire and try contacting the Groups for advice and local knowledge, there might even be somebody selling a suitable bike. About six years ago that was what I did, I was looking for a certain marque but ended up buying a different one from one of the Members, I still have that bike which is my favourite of the two trail bikes that I own.
Trail riding can be a bit of a compromise bearing in mind work/family/lifestyle choices, financial restraints, physical size of the bike and the rider, clothing, where to ride, etc..........
Good luck with your choice.
TTFN
Hugh.