Personally, I wouldn't recommend gliding. It's very expensive and you can spend a whole day at an airfield for ten minutes flying. As an example of cost, the London Gliding Club charges £640 for annual membership and an aero tow to 2000' plus an hours flying cost around £65. Gliding's great and I used to spend my weekends doing it in the 70s - but prices have gone up a lot since then.
Microlighting yes - I've had a couple of flights in flexiwings and looked over a couple of the three axis acft. Both types are fun to fly and I like the grass roots feel of the sport. In contrast gliding these days seems a bit snobby to me.