Hi Colin / @oldboy … and welcome to GADC.
Lessons … indeed, most are related to gaining the professional PfCO qualification.
But, lets home in on a few things …
Firstly - where abouts in the UK are you?
(Perhaps add yourself to the Map of Members, too : How to add yourself to the Members Map )
Secondly - the type of drone you are interested in - the larger ones for photography/video or the smaller/faster FPV types (also known as racing quads).
Whilst the former certainly can be flown with FPV goggles, most do not and are easy to fly without. However, the latter are almost always flown with goggles.