Many Judges are former lawyers who have practiced for many year prior to becoming a member of the Judiciary.
Articles haven't been called that for a long time, now a training contract.
It can be hard going financially but you manage how you can - I remember living on Safeway basis tomato soup and pitta bread at times :)
It seems quite popular now to do the GDL/LPC part time so they can also work, preferably getting experience in a law firm, often doing personal injury work as there is a lot out there (though maybe will be less so with the reforms). Property also used to be a large source of paralegal work but now less so with the recession, a lot of people lost their jobs. There are the pop up types of work such as the PPI claims.
The experience, if sufficient, could then be used as time to count towards a training contract and possibly help in getting a training contract as they aren't easy to get and there are a lot of law grads out there looking for one.
It has become a very popular subject to study and there seems to have been a lot of advertising to get people on law school courses, even though there aren't the jobs out there when they finish. I remember we always used to get told that unless you have a 2:1 degree then forget it.