Last time I bought a solder iron from Maplin I got an Antex with a stand, a couple of extra bits and a reel of solder. I think I paid about £20. I've now got a temp controlled Weller (but my employer paid for that even though I've not had to use an iron at work for over a year!).
The Antex was a good reliable iron with a good quality fine tip on it. As for projects, I bought a sinewave generator kit from Maplin about six months ago, piece of piss to build and, looking at pca's design probably well suited for practice.