Steps in the South of France

I spent the last month avoiding a driech ( an old Scots word for dirty damp cold weather) winter time in Scotland. Down in the sunshine and lets face it the occasional wet and windy South of France , Canadian craftworker Hilary Martin and I helped Vince Bourne to build a set of steps. We were able to quarry out suitable rocks .(more of that in the next entry) Starting as always at the bottom we made sure that each tread was on a solid foundation and that each step had the weight of those above holding them in position. There was some discussion about the flatness of steps .We decided to slope them very slightly into the step above and very slightly into the hillside to make the climb feel more secure. The width was never less than 45 to 50 cms. and the height of the tread was kept almost constant at 20 cms.This regularity ensures that when you descend there is much less risk of tripping.The photos show a traditional before and after.

I must also mention Ros Bourne who did a wonderful job tending our needs with a magic combination of French and English cuisine.