Came late to this thread but seeing Parker 73's comment about 'flying at remote airfields' hit the spot with me.
At the tender age of 34 and no 'wannabe airline pilot' ambitions he sounds eminent 'survey pilot' material. There are several companies who supply aircraft and crews to mapping companies who are happy to take pilots on to work their way in to survey flying. (That usually means a fair amount of hangar time as they build up hours but once the magic 500 hrs is logged you can work pretty well anywhere.
Between 200 and 500 hrs there are still opportunities to get hours in around UK and Europe and you certainly don't need an ATPL, just CPL/IR is ample. (Common sense and the ability to look after a small team helps).
If you are happy to fly medium piston and turbo twins (usually very second hand) there's work out there, and no '5-day-week-and'wife-and-kids' ties certainly helps.
I just reluctantly retired after 50 years of survey flying and would go back tomorrow if the old legs would hold up!
Give it a shot old son!