Starting flying - reality check
Hi djla86,
The first thing I would point out is that of all the people who actually get a PPL, fully 70% decide not renew their licences at the end of their first five years. (This does not include those who give up flying before they succeed in getting a licence).
There are numerous reasons why people give up, cost and the demands of family especially loom large, but so also does the massive over-regulation of private flying in the UK and the limited things you can do with your licence once you have got it - unless you have plenty of money. There's an old joke ruefully exchanged among private pilots that 'if God had intended man to fly - he would have given us more money'.
If your intention is to fly just for a hobby, then you should also look at gliding and micro-light flying. Micro-light flying is divided into two sub-categories, 'weight-shift' and 'three-axis'. 'Three-axis' micro-light aircraft especially are almost indistinguishable from 'Group A' and are in very many cases much better aircraft. These modes of flying are all much cheaper than 'Group A' flying and do not require a full PPL.
There is also the NPPL, which is a 'Britain only' licence that will give you limited rights to fly 'Group A' aircraft within the UK, although I do believe NPPL holders may now be allowed to fly over France. (Don't quote me on that; I'm not an NPPL holder so I am only going on hear-say).
Gliding has its own system of incremental certificates that can be gained step by step over a time and micro-light flying is regulated by the BMAA who have their own licence system. I believe the minimum requirement for a licence to fly 'three-axis' is only 30 hours, rather than the 45 minimum for a PPL or 40 for an NPPL.
Incidentally, don't fall into the trap of assuming the PPL is a '45 hour course'. The 45 hours is merely a legal minimum. In practice few people qualify within this number of hours, 60 or 70 hrs being more common. And if, for work or financial reasons, you can only fly perhaps once a fortnight then you are probably going to require well over a hundred hours just to get your flying to a standard adequate to pass the PPL skill test.
You also need to be confident that you can pass the six ground examinations by self-study as ground-school facilities are few and far between.
Finally, I would strongly support the point Rhino has made about knowing before you start what kind of flying you wish to do with your licence and knowing in advance whether you can afford it.
Good luck.
BP.