Thanks for the comments.
By range I mean equivalent highest and lowest gears, but reducing drastically the number of gears between. I find 21 gears are unnecessary for the use.
I would err toward 3-4 low gears for the uphill, offroad use, and then three mid range for around the village which would still leave me 3-4 higher gears for roads. This of course depends also on how many sprockets I can get between the forks without changing the wheelset.
As I am a non-professional and require a simple, strong and capable runner/shopper, I am looking to reduce the bike down to the minimum.
I can of course use the bike as it is, whilst getting a feel for which gears are more useful, but that old mech is in need of a complete overhaul, and being a lower-grade (Acera) mech it is likely more practical to replace it.
Of course if I could find an excellent XTR mech set with 24 gears I might be tempted.
presently just looking at my options!
Thanks