Driveways in Windermere

Windermere

Driveways in Windermere, done properly

Windermere and Bowness are Victorian and Edwardian villas, and the driveways match: long, curved approaches that were laid in loose gravel a century ago and have been topped up ever since rather than rebuilt. Under most of them there is no sub-base worth the name, which is why they rut in the same two lines every summer. The two things that decide a job here are trees and access. Mature limes and beeches along those approaches mean roots you cannot simply dig through — the drive gets designed around them or you kill the tree and lose the setting that made the house worth buying. And a good number of the lanes off the Bowness end will not take an 8-wheeler, so material comes in on smaller loads and that gets worked out before we quote, not on the morning. Resin-bound suits these approaches particularly well: it holds the gravel look the buildings want without any of it ending up in the lake road.

• Victorian and Edwardian approaches laid in loose gravel a century ago, with no sub-base worth the name underneath
• Mature limes and beeches mean roots you design around, not dig through — or you lose the setting
• Access off the Bowness end is tight, so material comes in on smaller loads and that's priced in