Paths & Steps in Buckingham

Buckingham sits in the valley of the Great Ouse, and a fair number of gardens here rise or fall noticeably from the house. On a sloping plot garden steps are not a feature you add at the end; they decide how the whole garden works. Get them right and the top of the garden becomes somewhere you actually go. Get them wrong and it becomes a climb you avoid.

A long flight is easier to use when it is broken up. Rather than one steep run, we often suggest a landing every so often, somewhere to pause, turn or set something down. Every riser in a flight should match, and treads should be deep enough that you are not shuffling your feet.

Where the slope is gentler, a path that zig-zags across the bank can replace steps altogether, which suits wheelbarrows and mowers. The turns need to be wide enough to manoeuvre and the gradient kept comfortable, with grippy paving where the path is steepest.

Cutting steps into a bank produces soil, and on a sloping plot that soil is useful. Where it is suitable, we can often use it to level a small terrace or fill behind a new wall, which cuts down on muck away and keeps more of your budget in the steps themselves.

Access is worth planning early, because every slab, bag and barrow load has to go uphill or downhill from the road. A narrow side gate on a steep plot can add a day to the job, so we look at the route materials will take when we visit and build that into the quote.

Water is the hidden challenge on a slope. Rain runs down paths and steps, so we build in falls and, at the bottom of a flight, a channel or gravel strip to catch run-off before it reaches the house or a patio.

If your home is listed or in Buckingham's conservation area, check with Buckinghamshire Council before altering anything visible from the street. Steps that face north or sit in shade stay damp longer, so a textured surface and clear nosings matter even more on a slope.