Courtyard Driveway and Oak Pergolas, Woodhall Spa

A circular block-paved courtyard, a sandstone terrace and oak pergolas that tie the house, the drive and the garden together.

Woodhall Spa

A courtyard that welcomes you home

This house in Woodhall Spa had plenty of character, but the drive and the space around it did not match. The old drive was cracked and patched, there was nowhere pleasant to sit out of the wind, and the area by the house felt like somewhere you passed through rather than somewhere to stop.

The homeowners wanted the approach to the house to feel finished, with room to park, and a sheltered terrace they could use from the garden room.

Courtyard with herringbone paving, a sandstone terrace, outdoor sofa and raised beds with trees

The design brief

The brief was to replace the drive with something that suited the house, create a terrace for outdoor seating and add structure close to the building so the garden felt connected to it.

At the design visit we looked at how cars turned in, where the drainage ran and how the sun moved round the house. The circular layout came from that: it gives a natural turning space and a centrepiece for a tree.

We drew it all in 3D with the house in the picture, including the oak pergolas and raised beds, so the homeowners could see how the materials would sit together before agreeing a fixed price.

Large grey tumbled block-paved driveway with a curved sett band in front of a white house with oak pergolas

How we built it

We broke out the old drive and took the spoil away, then dug down to firm ground and laid a compacted sub-base strong enough for cars, with drainage to keep water away from the house.

The courtyard is laid in grey block paving with a curved sett band, set out in a circle around a dry-stone tree bed. Every edge course is bedded in concrete so the circle stays true.

Beside the house we laid a light sandstone terrace on a full mortar bed, with room for an outdoor sofa, and built dry-stone raised beds to bring planting up around it.

Finally we raised green oak pergolas by the house, pegged at the joints and fixed on concrete footings. They frame the windows and the garden room doors and give climbers somewhere to grow.

White house with orangery, oak pergolas and multi-stem trees in stone planters

The finished garden

The front of the house now has the welcome it deserved. The courtyard handles the cars easily, and the tree in its stone bed gives everyone arriving something to look at.

The sandstone terrace has become an extra room in good weather, sheltered by the house and the pergolas, and it is just as attractive in the evening when the tree is lit.

The block paving and sandstone will weather gently, and the oak will silver over the years. Like every Fosse & Fen garden, it carries our 10-year workmanship guarantee.

Why Fosse & Fen

The Fosse & Fen difference

Every garden starts with understanding how you want to use it. We visit, measure up and listen, then draw the garden in 3D so you can change what you like before we price it. You get a fixed, itemised quote, with no surprises later.

Our own team builds everything we design, from the dig-out to the last plant, so nothing is lost in a handover. You have one number to call, a tidy site every evening and a 10-year workmanship guarantee on the finished garden.

Gallery

Photos from this garden

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Reviews

What our customers say

They dug out the whole back garden and had the patio, lawn and lighting finished in four weeks. The 3D drawing meant there were no surprises. It looks exactly like the drawing.

SK

Sarah K.

Nettleham

Owen came out three times during the build to check on things. The lads were polite, started on time every morning and swept the drive every night.

DR

David and Helen R.

Heighington

Our resin driveway went down in a day once the base was in. Fixed price, no extras, and the guarantee in writing.

MT

Mark T.

Washingborough

Tell us about your garden and we will book your free design visit.