CharcoalBuy good quality lumpwood or briquettes, my favorite is restaurant grade lumpwood which is available from Makro, Booker or directly from the manufacturer in Burnley which is not too far from you. It's cheap if you get it direct too.
If going with briquettes then use a good brand like Big K, Heat Beads or Supagrill Cocoshell. Avoid the Weber stuff, it produces loads of horrible yellow ash.
WoodYou've got two choices here, chips or chunks. I use chunks but I have a wood supplier near by so it's easy. Check out
http://www.smokingwoodsupplies.co.uk/ if you want chunks, I think Paul will be able to arrange shipping.
The easier soultion is using chips, which you can buy from garden centres and even supermarkets in the Summer. If you use chips, don't soak them, make a foil pouch for your chips and pierce it several times with a skewer. Lay this on your hot coals and the chips will burn nice and slowly. Chunks are better IMHO but chiops are convenient when you're starting out.
Oak is good for general smoking, apple and cherry give a fruity smoke, alder and beech are mild and good on fish. The whiskey barrel chips you can buy are quite nice.
Whatever you use, start out with a little wood and work up to a flavour you like, it's easy to oversmoke food (but difficult to make it inedible).
Chimney StarterThis is the best way to start your charcoal. The Weber one is the best I've used, costs £15 and is available from most Garden Centres that sell Weber stuff.
RubsIn the first instance it's probably easier to make your own. Google "Basic BBQ rubs" and you'll get some good ones. If you want to buy rubs, check out
http://www.socal.co.uk as a starting point, I think Stubbs is a half decent generic rub, but it really is a doddle to make some nice all purpose rubs.
Other ThingsRemember to calibrate your lid thermometer on your Excel when you get it. Do this by removing the thermometer and placing the stem in boiling water, adjust the nut on the back until the thermometer reads 100C.
A food probe thermometer is also highly recommended, this way you can ensure you get your food to the right internal temperature. If you are happy to spend a little cash on this, I'd recommend the Maverick ET-73 A lot of us use these, they're great pieces of kit. They're only available in the US but there's a few EBay sellers who will ship them over here.
You'll need some heat resistant gloves for opening doors and things. Don't buy expensive BBQ gloves, just buy some cheap welding gloves from EBay at £3 per pair.
Good luck with the smoking, please post pics of your exploits and never hesitate to ask questions.
HTH
Steve