THX1138 - Good assumption I have no idea about final gather type stuff. The only thing I did after enabling it was to lower the (photons?) or something so it rendered faster. I was going to up it again when I've got the textures out of the way. Thanks for the pointers, they are much appreciated and I'll give them a try tonight

mayafreak3 - not at all, criticise away and the more the better I'm still a total noob when it comes to rendering (and more or less to texturing!) so help is greatly appreciated!
1 - Yeah the wood texture has come out a little bright, think I'll darken it in photoshop and see how it comes out.
2 - Good point on the wood. I've been playing with the reflection this morning (when I should have been uving) to drop it a little. It is quite reflective in certain light but not as much as on the render.
3 - Willdo any pointers on getting better renders will be helpful

Thanks guys, you're making what seems a (very) complicated area a lot easier to understand