I would seriously recommend the NPPL route. Unless you have real intentions of pursuing a CPL and beyond I think that the less stringent medical and reduced hours will save you literally thousands! Also, a silver C or BGA glider pilots licence can reduce the total number of minimum hours required. I appreciate your age but worth considering. Check the licence allowances on the website.
Moving onto your question about flying abroad. The NPPL website has all the info you need. The basic answer is that an NPPL holder can now fly to France, the Channel Islands and Isle of Mann, as long as certain criteria are met. These are more fully explained on the website but basically are, hold an ICAO class 2 medical, completed minimum of 40 hours total time, 10 hours solo and 5 hours solo cross country. Coupled with this, you must have completed at least one solo xc of 150 miles with two full stop landaways at different fields to that of depature/arrival.
Hope this helps. The NPPL website is a very useful tool or if that fails to
answer you questions ring the people in the office who will be more than
helpful!
S_C