Seems very hot

[105e]

Clutch started to slip, was going to diy but decided to put it in the local garage, So it was done and i drove the car home, noticed temp gauge was in usual position. When i got out the car i could feel heat and on opening the engine cover could really feel it, couldnt bear my hand on the chassis piece that runs across the back between suspension tops. Never noticed this before,  any thoughts?..

[Dev]

If your radiator fans are cycling on and off at idle then your car is in the correct operational range.
The only way to know if the car is hotter than usual is to hook up an ODB2 reader that can read live data so you can check your water temps.
Feel from the back of the engine is not a good indicator of excessive heat as that is the location of the exhaust components which is much hotter than the engine. 

[Carolyn]

If they disconnected hoses to get at the gearbox (which seems likely), then they may not have properly refilled the coolant system.  If your temperature gauge is above halfway, then it's a good bet the cylinder head has some air in the coolant jacket, and that will show on the gauge, as the sensor is in the head.

How's the coolant level in the expansion bottle?

[McMr2]

Clutch started to slip, was going to diy but decided to put it in the local garage, So it was done and i drove the car home, noticed temp gauge was in usual position. When i got out the car i could feel heat and on opening the engine cover could really feel it, couldnt bear my hand on the chassis piece that runs across the back between suspension tops. Never noticed this before,  any thoughts?..

Anytime I've tried to open the engine cover after a drive it's usually too hot to touch, have assumed this to be normal.

[Petrus]

Anytime I've tried to open the engine cover after a drive it's usually too hot to touch, have assumed this to be normal.

It is.
It is where the cat and muffler are stacked on top and kept warm by the black heat shield preventing the plastic bumper skirt from deforming.