When we first had our UFH installed we had a boiler that ram at 55deg installed and simply connected the old radiators to it upstairs. We’ve now had the boiler replaced and a mixer installed so the rads get 80deg water, it’s made a massive difference to how warm the bedrooms get, at 55 they weren’t up to the job but at 80 they are plenty
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This is what we did. We put UFH in the kitchen on a separate zone, and then have a zone each for the ground and upper floors. Very efficient and combined with decent boilers, good glazing and heavy insulation is relatively cheap to run. Cost a bit to install it all mind.
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Yes, I remember you mentioning it before. When it works, it works well.
This BRE report https://www.heritage-house.org/documents/UnintendedConsequencesRoutemap_v4.0_160316_final.pdf lists what can go wrong, and has done, when it comes to EWI on ‘historic homes’, by which they mean those built before 1930 (basically before the Building Regs started trying to ensure that building was done properly).
VB
Ours was built around 1930. 9" wall lime mortar.
Ours is 1871-5 (it’s not on the 1871 map but is on the '75 one). Does yours have a DPC or rendering ? Ours generally doesn’t have the former but does have the latter, which originally went down to below the nominal 6" rain-splash height. So the walls are inherently damp :-(. Quite a lot of silicone injection has been tried at different points in the past. Sometimes it’s worked …
VB
Ours is red brick and has a slate DPC which works just fine. It’s really shocking the number of times I see rendering bridging DPCs. A plasterer doesn’t need muck knowledge but they really should know this.
I see what you did there 
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VB
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Is the climbing wall underused? Surly an hour or so of scaling the back yard Matterhorn is enough to warm a man up?
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If you’re going down this route and have the space I think it is worth going for ground source heating…You need underfloor heating and £ to do the work but it would and does pay for itself.
I’ve not got the ground space so have been looking at air source heat pumps but am yet to be convinced.
The options I have, mean it would have to be close to where we sit outside.
They are (too) noisy, particularly if having to work hard.
They are also limited in how effective they are, i.e. the colder/damper it is they less effective they are-which is the time you of course want them to do their job.
Not sold…
My garden is full of climbing wall, no chance of a ground source. The noise might be a factor though. Hmm.
Is the above ground bit bigger than the footprint of an air source one ? That would seem a bit unfair given that with ground source the heat exchanger is, by definition, buried.
VB
For info I reckon my UFH cost about £11k by the time you include boiler, suitable HW tank, the UFH (pipe, manifold, pump, mixer), controls, screed and suitable flooring. That was a fairly large installation (11m x 12m comprising 3 rooms and a hallway) + 2 new rads, plus connecting into upstairs (2 towel rads + 4 large rads)
There is new tech for the UFH. Mine was much cheaper, perhaps £4K IIRC for approx 70 m sq space (L shaped) not including the costs of the boiler. There was no need for screed etc. We put heavy insulation down on the existing floor which is channeled for the UFH. Then matting and tile cement to provide a firm base for the tiled floor. Installation was done in two days plus two days tiling and no need to wait for the screed to cure. The major arse ache was levelling the existing floor which used an incredible amount of SLC.
Who is this “we” of whom you speak? 
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The Domestic Antipodean and I commissioned a crack team of craftsmen and tradies to put = We put
Hopefully Nursey will be along with your tablets and cocoa in a minute. You old fellas shouldn’t overdo it.
Suggests to me that you engaged in manual labour.
There is the same chance of you and me both doing manual labour.
Fair comment 
Sounds not too different per sq m if you allow, say, £2-3k for Paul’s boiler.
VB