Gareth. You may need to invest in a light pollution filter, although you can get by without one. Exposure time is an important factor dealing with sky gradients and optimizing signal to noise ratio (SNR).
Once you have the hardware, or while you're waiting the reading below is a good start getting to grips with the nuts and bolts of AP.
http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/Science/...graphy_DSO.htm
This is a basic guide
http://www.pbase.com/samirkharusi/beginners
Really good for understanding sub exposures
http://www.samirkharusi.net/sub-exposures.html
Jerry sells a couple of CD's - personally I think the advanced guide is the one to get. Lots of great info.
http://www.astropix.com/