I have a
Kingcycle - an excellent "day bike", fairly light, a good climber, and with a really useful weatherproof tailbox. BUT... no longer made. You would have to find a secondhand one, and they are increasingly rare. Plus you would need to get the fork modded to accept a 20" wheel instead of the obscure French size it was originally made for, and for which you can't get decent tyres nowadays.
I also have a
Challenge Fujin SLII, which is a lovely machine (very light for a recumbent, at ~19lbs), fast, comfortable and not so low as to be impractical on UK roads. But it gets exercised rarely, because it makes me too fast for the company I keep when riding.
And I have a
Raptobike lowracer, but that is set up purely for racing on flat circuits, with no low gears. It's pretty good for its targeted use, but in my opinion (others differ) lowracers are not for recumbent beginners - not on UK roads, anyway. My SO has a Catrike Pocket trike, which she adores - but she isn't as fast on it as on an upright bike.
What I would recommend you look at for a first recumbent, assuming that you want an all-rounder, is something with a good balance of the virtues of Kingcycle and Fujin, the
Challenge Mistral SL. You will notice that this is
not cheap!! Light recumbents aren't! A cheaper alternative is the
Bacchetta Giro 20, which is closely analagous to the Kingcycle - as are quite a few other short wheelbase recumbents, showing that Miles Kingsbury, the Kingcycle designer, got it pretty well right back in 1985
If the budget is tight, or you don't want to splash out on what may prove to be just an experiment, a secondhand recumbent would be a good taster. You might like to keep an eye out on
eBay and the For Sale pages of the Velovision and British Human Power Club forums for a
Speed Ross/Orbit Crystal (they are virtually the same thing). One in good condition should cost you less than £500.
PS another thoroughbred all-rounder for the fairly well-heeled is the
Burrows Ratcatcher. It's just as well that I have my Kingcycle, or I'd be tempted!