You could do it because you're not a UK citizen. Every time I go to Europe, I see lots of people of other nationalities using cards at airports :/ The government have been talking about introducing ID cards for years, but there's a lot of opposition because they want to keep your DNA profile/thumbprints/eye scans if you apply for one.

I haven't seen them for years; I remember when I was very young my dad woke me up in the middle of the night and took me outside to see them (because of where we are, they're a bit weak but you can still see the colours and the way they move :D). Don't they show more at some times of the year than others? I hope they're out in Feb for your trip :)