As L says, it is not only in the UK. Try anywhere in Southern Italy, most of Africa, and a lot of places in Germany.
As DFC says (though somewhat tongue in cheek) it very much depends where you go in the UK. The dedicated GA airfields (Biggin, Fairoaks etc) it is very easy indeed..at least as easy as in LTQ. Norwich is famous for its non-GA-friendly procedures and shouldn't be used to judge the whole country.
W