Last month I went to the Northern Tango Society's milonga in the Regency Ballroom, Albion Chambers in Morley near Leeds; DJ Guillermo (Argentina-Newcastle).
The host, Carole, makes everyone feel welcome. The floor was excellent and there was a warm atmosphere created by the lighting and the soft furnishings. It was not as dark as the photos and video suggest. There is a separate room for bags, coats and changing shoes. There is a bar. Everyone has a table for their drinks. The nicest thing about this milonga for me was that virtually all the men I danced with escorted me back to my table. Sadly none of these things are yet universal features of British milongas though I think many of these things are becoming more standard and quite rapidly.
Cabeceo/mirada is practised by some but I did not find it to be standard. If a guy cannot catch your eye the assumption could be something other than that you might not want to dance at that moment.
Because of the size of the room and the layout of seating it can be hard for guys to invite women not in their party discreetly by look and without moving from their seats. Still, there was none of the pushy behaviour from women trying to get dances that I have seen at some milongas further south. The north of England and Scotland at least seem largely to be free from that particular blight.
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