Thanks for the advice guys - I think I will go for the Yamaha F310 (unless some more suggestions come in) - it seems to be the cheapest decent starter guitar out there. As I say, I am only dipping my toe in actually playing music - so don't want to go overboard. Looks like I will be trawling ebay for a while trying to find one at a bargain price.
It is great to hear you are joining in the fun and supporting your daughter
Two words for you "Thin Plectrums" much cleaner strumming for beginners. Thinnest white Dunlop ones 0.38 / 0.46
Obviously, for the most part you will always do better, by spending more..to a point of course. So when buying at the lower end, you should take care to spend wisely and get as much "guitar" as you can, for your money.
What you really do want, if at all possible..is a "Solid Spruce Top". It has to say exactly that on the description...if it says "Spruce Top", then it is plywood.
The top of the guitar is where the strings transmit their vibrations to. It moves with these vibrations and produces the amplified sound.
So it needs to move! Solid wood does this better.
The other thing that you should look into, is making the instrument playable. Learning is tough on the hands and tough on your self motivation.
Even expensive guitars, will benefit from a good "setup". This setup produces a nice "Action" to the guitar. Action, is primarily the height of the strings away from the fret board (neck). The higher the action, the further the strings have to be pressed to make a clean note and the harder it is to do it.
Ensure that you allow a few quid at some point, to have someone set the action for you...it makes a world of difference and can often be the deciding factor on "Lifetime hobby" and "Lifetime sat in a corner/shoved in cupboard/loft". I have spent a fair amount of money and a great deal of time learning how to do this and have saved many a waning new guitarist
The Yamaha you mention, does not have a Solid top...does have Yamaha written on it though . . .
Look at the;
Tanglewood TW28
Washburn WD10S
Crafter Lite
Avoid anything with electronics in it, unless you are doubling the budget that you need to double...and still you don't need them.
If you can get your budget into the £200 mark, then you really can buy a NICE instrument
http://www.eaglemusicshop.com/6-string-acoustic-guitars/crafter-ga-6-acoustic-guitar.htm
Really, there is a point where spending too little,is simply a waste. Ebay is good, but go local and collect.
GAK
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/gakfinance do interest free credit...well worth it.
If you want any advice, let me know.
Check these guys out; amazing teachers
Marty Schwartz