Wow, those look pretty cool

If it doesnt work out with hugin Ill give that a go. Already got a plan to do a panorama tomorrow night from the cottage looking at Helm Crag, as well as another idea for an artsy shot...stay tuned

if you need a tripod, this is the one i bought and it has come down a quid since i got it.

http://direct.tesco.com/search/default.aspx?search=tripod&confirm.x=0&confirm.y=0

might not be some fancy brand but it works perfectly well.

If you use a lens that has a certain amount of distortion to start with then it will certainly make it harder for your stitching software to do its own distortion in joining together. In particular try to avoid wider focal lengths that distort perspective, perhaps use 35mm-equivalent as a minimum. Try also to keep to centre of the viewfinder level with the horizon rather than pointing up or down.
I got a free package with some earlier Nikons called Arcsoft Panorama Maker and it does a good job. I found that earlier difficulty with bendy horizons when using digital compacts (with bendy lenses) disappeared when I started using conventional slr lenses. Another good tip is to fix the exposure and white balance for all exposures to avoid effects where the camera adjusts the light in the image for each frame; choose a median value first.