Well I took the head off and this is what it looked like:
Looks like water has been getting all over the place. The head is now at the engine specialist which is gonna get looked over and potentially skimmed.
Before I took the head off, the engine use to get pretty hot on the motorway, nearing the red which I'd say is about 90-95 degrees so generally always had the heater on and the windows open! I've noticed when on the motorway it'll get much hotter (even with the heater on) when under load, such as going up a hill. However when on the motorway, with the heater on and going down hill it'll sit happily just above the middle.
Would this water leaking around the head gasket cause this getting hot issue?