As much as they give you anesthesia for the treatment, Root Canal is still painful as they need to know they have got all the root by probing to the bottom of the canal and into your jaw.

Personal experience says extraction is the less painful route James.

Good luck.

Whatever your decision, if this guy is doing the job, run away
 

The Best Answer was given and then taken away.
(Strummy must have called James and said he's on his way......)

Mesh
The Best Answer was given and then taken away.
(Strummy must have called James and said he's on his way......)

You're British so you're not expected to have nice teeth anyway.  "Yank" it! 
 
(Wait, is Super Glue an option???)

craigb
You're British so you're not expected to have nice teeth anyway.  "Yank" it! 
 
(Wait, is Super Glue an option???)

 
Very good Craig.
 
Well done.

I vote extraction. Hell James, at our age, stuff is gonna start falling out on its own soon enough. No sense in prolonging the inevitable. You can always get an implant for ease of chewing.

I've had four or five root canals, and a couple of those teeth had to be pulled several years later. I don't regret the root canals, because they weren't very painful and I was able to keep the teeth for a while longer. My extractions probably caused more pain and trauma than the root canals. The worst pain by far is the abscess, which is resolved by either root canal or extraction.
 
My regular dentist (here in the US) does most of my work, but I've had a couple of root canals and an extraction done by specialists. The endodontists (root canal specialists) were amazingly fast and efficient. I had an extraction done by a specialist who used the handle of the tool to push the tooth back and forth until it was ready to come out. When he finally used the forceps, there was no resistance. The rocking felt like a medieval torture, but that method reduces the risk that the tooth will break during the process. If that happens, you may be in for a flap procedure, the worst treatment.

The process of the root canal itself isn't bad.  It's the agony leading up to it that sucks.

I had a root canal but It was on a cap and I didn't want to lose the cap. Good luck and don't be afraid to get pain medication.