Thanks for the advice Spook, I bought the right hoses and then when I finally got underneath when the snow had gone, found I really needed the upper radiator hose. I purchased a Volvo one on Ebay and now I'm back on the road.
In a thread Ive just posted Im going to try and fit an aftermarket temperature gauge (mine doesn't work anymore). Ive tried working on the instrument cluster before to fix the fuel gauge which wasn't a great success hence going down the aftermarket route. The post I put up was asking if anyone knew the inner diameter of the top heater hose so I can buy the right size block to fit the sensor into. All cheap enough for me to do with a limited skill set.

I'll also have a go at fitting a coolant level warning system as listed in the FAQ.

Cheers