Contracting in a UK sense is really very different from consulting or freelancing. It's essentially just a 9-5 short-term job, usually on-site, with more money and some extra accountancy perks.
I see more things in common than differences between those and I know people in the UK that use contract work to supplement their income when their consulting/freelancing gigs are not plentiful enough.
http://jacquesmattheij.com/be-consultant/
The idea was to one day bind this all together and make it a book.