Easiest way to upgrade from Apple Mac OS X 10.5, Leopard to Mountain Lion or Lion without buying Snow Leopard?

I have a 2009 Macbook Pro with Apple Mac OS X 10.5, Leopard on it and I'm starting to get annoyed with the fact that some stuff is not compatible with this OSX anymore. I would like to be able to upgrade to Mountain Lion or Lion but without having to fork out £15 on Snow Leopard when it won't get used, or should I upgrade to Snow Leopard and not bother about upgrading to Lion or Mountain Lion.
Thanks in advance
Matt

You have to get Snow Leopard first.
Start by checking if you can run Snow Leopard:
Requirements for OS X 10.6 'Snow Leopard'
http://support.apple.com/kb/SP575
The OS 10.6 Snow Leopard install DVD is available for $19.99 from the Apple Store:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
and in the UK:
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
but nobody knows for how long it will be available.
When you have installed it, run Software Update to download and install the latest updates for Snow Leopard.
To use iCloud you have to upgrade at least to Lion, but some functions are only available in Mountain Lion:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4759
You can also purchase the code to use to download Lion (Lion requires an Intel-based Mac with a Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, i7 or Xeon processor and 2GB of RAM, running the latest version of Snow Leopard), or you can purchase Mountain Lion from the App Store - if you can run that:
http://www.apple.com/osx/specs/

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There is a good chance one can directly go from 10.6.8 to 10.9 like occurred with 10.6.8 to 10.8, skipping OS X versions in the process. We don't know for sure until it's released, it makes logical sense though.
OS X versions 10.7+ do not run PPC based software your currently using Rosetta under 10.6
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If it won't run with 10.7 or 10.8, it likely won't with 10.9
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table
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Have two copies of your data off the machine in case you need to do a erase and install of 10.9 to fix other issues with your machine. TimeMachine might have gotten corrupted unawares and refuse to restore and it would be on the older OS X version. So your extra copy of just users files on a regular drive or bootable clone is going to save your bacon.
Prevention is worth a ton of cure. Most commonly used backup methods
Warning! If one connects a TimeMachine drive to a upgraded OS X system, because of the huge changes of the boot drive, it's likely going to cause a huge change to TimeMachine as it's a rotational backup system, it doesn't archive users files so older ones will be deleted.
If you have been storing older files on TimeMachine thinking you can restore them, then you need to make sure to save them off the TimeMachine drive on a external drive before upgrading OS X or making any substantial changes to your boot drive.
I also highly advise that if your machine has a boot hard drive (not a SSD), to reduce users files off the drive to bare minimal, they can be returned after upgrading. This has a effect of the new OS X version being written to faster portions of the boot drive instead of the slower ones with a full boot drive, also less defragmention occurs. Hopefully this will avoid a lot of the "I've upgraded and my machine is now slow problems"
If you have a SSD is to make sure you have about 75% of the SSD free space by reducing users files.
Regardless of a SSD or maximum RAM, after upgrading OS X on older machines it might appear slower than before, it's because newer OS X versions are more feature rich and tailored to newer machines with more RAM, faster processors and graphics capability. This is normal and to be expected for instance the OS X Lions really work better with 4GB of RAM or more, despite Apple saying 2GB is the minimal.
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Yes, there's been no updates to 10.5.8 for quite awhile, next is paid Upgrades.
Snow Leopard/10.6.x Requirements...
General requirements
   * Mac computer with an Intel processor
    * 1GB of memory (I say 4GB at least)
    * 5GB of available disk space (I say 30GB at least)
    * DVD drive for installation
    * Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
    * Some features require Apple’s MobileMe service; fees and terms apply.
Which apps work with Mac OS X 10.6?...
http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/
It looks like they might still have it...
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A?fnode=MTY1NDAzOA
If it's a core Duo & not a Core2Duo, then it'll only run in 32 bit mode.
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    •    x86-64 processor (Macs with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core i3, Intel Core i5, Intel Core i7, or Xeon processor.)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X_Lion#System_requirements
http://www.apple.com/macosx/how-to-buy/
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http://ow.ly/5Iz09
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table

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My current set-up is noted below. The main "Macintosh HD" is 250 GB's in size and is fairly filled up with programs and plug-ins. (I own Logic Studio 8 and Final Cut Pro Studio 2, as well as Adobe's CS4 Web Premium Suite.)
Prior to doing the upgrade from Tiger to Leopard, I wish to ensure that I get back to my current set-up should any problems arise. Off hand, I can think of a couple of options to chose from to ensure a proper backup :
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2) Purchasing a new, larger disk drive for the Leopard upgrade and safely storing the original drive containing Tiger.
Maybe there are more ways to upgrade from Tiger to Leopard with a dependable "back-up"??
No matter how I ensure a back-up of my current drive, I will install Leopard as a clean install.
What would be the BEST way to do the upgrade with proper back-up?
Thank you in advance for your time and input.
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I suggest the following:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
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Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
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http://www.ifixit.com/Device/Mac_Mini_Model_A1283
A serial number lookup site such as the one I end up using because I had it bookmarked is OK: http://www.powerbookmedic.com/identify-mac-serial.php & also have mactracker http://mactracker.ca
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Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
One thing is the memory, and another thing is the hard disk space. You are telling me that you have 200 GB of free space on the hard disk, but the App Store is telling you that you have to install 2 GB of memory or more on your Mac if you want to upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.
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