OK - in your price range, I have a few recommendations:

Konica-Minolta DiMAGE A1 - 5 megapixels, 7x optical zoom,
anti-shake/vibration function, excellent auto-focus system, rear LCD
display and electronic eyepoint viewfinder.  It's right at the edge of
your budget at £499, but it's a great little camera and will give you
plenty of control to expand your skills later on.

The DiMAGE A200 is an 8-megapixel body with many of the features of
the A1.  It runs about £449.

You might also look at the Canon Powershot S2/IS, which claims a 12x
optical zoom range (36-432mm equivalent), though I've not used one.
5MP, anti-vibration, £470.

These are all "SLR-like" cameras with a good deal of manual control,
should you want it.  They all fill the hand nicely.  I'm not a good
person to ask about point-and-shoot cameras, if you're deciding to go
that way.

Another option is to purchase a used Nikon or Canon film SLR in good
condition with a lens or two, and add a £230 Minolta Scan Dual IV film
scanner to the mix for taking things to digital.