I think IO540 has spotted the main problem. The real PPL is the PPL/IMC, the basic PPL is effectively a recreational pilots licence for sunny sunday afternoons rather than for using an aircraft as serious transport.
If you only use your licence for its own sake rather than to fly yourself on journeys you would otherwise have driven or flown commercially, it starts to look pointless and ultimately too expensive. Spending thousands of pounds to have gained the experience of your first solo or your first cross country, is for many people just about justifiable. But a hundred pounds plus for a hour or so in a cramped noisy aircraft without achieving anything specific soon gets downright depressing.
I recently went for my first flight after a long layoff, I thoroughly enjoyed it and landed fully intending to book some more flights. But all the aircraft were booked as far ahead as it's possible to book so I couldn't book for another week, and by then I had decided that fun though it was the flight hadn't really been worth the money. Since then fuel prices have risen and frankly I doubt if I'll ever take up flying again. The pleasure per pound ratio just doesn't make it worthwhile.