Near Sawrey

The Brief

After a life changing accident in 2020, our client approached us with a wish to make the garden, that she shares with her now seriously disabled husband, more accessible for the new challenges that the accident and a wheelchair would bring to their enjoyment of the existing garden. Outdoor life is of huge importance to the couple, and to be able to access the garden and the views to the nature beyond would bring untold benefits to the lives of both.

In order to allow for wheelchair access, increased patio space was a must, as were wider, more level pathways and removal of obstacles.

There was a wish to retain as much of the existing planting as possible, as this was already very much to the client’s liking.

The building work to extend the house had taken a heavy toll on the garden, as machinery had been travelling across the lawn and flower beds to gain access. We needed to make good where the garden had been damaged in this way.

The client wished to have raised beds for vegetables and a fruit cage for soft fruit. A plinth for a new greenhouse was also required.

A summer house with plenty of windows, and electrical connection was to be positioned at the top of the garden. Groundings and the laying of electrical wiring were needed for this.

The Solution

The principal task for Lakeland Gardens was to create space that was accessible for a wheelchair, that would fit in with the surroundings and the existing garden.

In order to level the ground near the house for the increased size of the new patio, an area of raised rock needed to be chipped away. The patio was then laid on top of the remaining bedrock.

The summer house sits at a slightly higher elevation than the house, so a gradually sloping pathway from the main patio now runs up past the lawn to the kitchen garden and summer house. A gentle 1:20 incline allows for easy wheelchair access. Raised beds have been created using a double layer of wooden railway sleepers. A greenhouse has been placed in a central position in the kitchen garden, and a wooden framed fruit cage to one side. The summer house sits in the furthest corner of this area, at the very edge of the garden.

Where the ground has been churned up by builders’ machinery, the lawn area has now been levelled out and seeded.

Around the entrance to the property, several trees have been removed to create a slightly wider opening. The new driveway will be filled with slate chippings from the Elterwater quarry, and edged with slate from Hodge Close. Retaining walls have been built re-using stone from a Lake District farm. A fire escape ramp has been built from the patio area towards the gateway in case of emergency.