Lots of people will say that digital is way cheaper than film. In reality it is much closer than than you might think. Depending on how you shoot, film may even be cheaper when comparing like for like systems.
High end digital systems are expensive. It might cost as much as £10,000 to get set up with a pro system.
Large format cameras and lenses can actually be obtained pretty cheaply, and if you are careful you can get set up with a nice camera and a couple of lenses for less than £1000.
Yes, film is can be expensive, but you tend not to shoot a lot of sheets in large format. I can shoot, develop and scan black and white for around £3 per shot. Colour is much more expensive at around £15 per shot. For an average portrait I might only shoot 4-6 sheets of film
The prices can mount up, but your digital equipment depreciates over time. So you might easily lose a thousand pounds or maybe more every year of its life. If you wouldn't shoot £1000 of film every year, large format is cheaper.