An Imposing Preston Driveway

© Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse
under this Creative Commons Licence

Following on from our previous Lancashire Driveway post, here's another imposing entrance, this time between Preston and Blackburn.

Like Stoneyhurst College, the length of Hoghton Tower's driveway is an impressive half a mile, although records indicate it used to be longer!

The Red Carpet Treatment

Having such a long driveway isn't always a good thing though. In 1617 king James I visited Hoghton Tower, at that time under the care of Baronet Richard Hoghton.

Although already burdened with financial difficulties, Richard was eager to impress the King and keep favour at court, so during the celebration the entire length of this vast driveway was carpeted in a luxurious red velvet.

It is reported that the extravagance of the royal visit nearly bankrupted the family, and indeed within a short space of time Richard Hoghton was jailed at Fleet Prison in relation to his debts.

The family prevailed however and went on to entertain many famous guests including The Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Mary and George V, William III, James I, Shakespeare, Dickens and Turner.

Pattern Imprinted Concrete Carpet

To get a feel for just how long half a mile is, take a look at this YouTube clip from the annual Hoghton Tower Bike Sprint, in which competitors race up the hill against the clock.

Now imagine that covered in red velvet. It'd probably have been cheaper to get red pattern imprinted concrete installed and certainly much longer lasting and easier to clean!

Perhaps if Wills and Kate visit, we'll call them with a price.

More Preston Driveways

If you live in the area and would like your more modest driveway, garden path or patio finished with stamped concrete, why not take a look at the Northern Cobblestone website for examples of our driveways in Preston and the surrounding area.

Mews cobblestone is more popular, but if you want us to try red velvet, just let us know!

Origins of Lead Up The Garden Path

The phrase 'to lead up the garden path' has many variations in use across the English-speaking world. You may be led down the path in Australia, up it in Europe, or lose the word path altogether in the USA.

The Meaning

Of course the phrase means to deceive or mislead, and is thought to originate in pre-twentieth century England, when most village homes had a garden or vegetable plot, complete with trails or pathways.

Possible Origins

But why do garden paths have this unfortunate association with deception?

One possible origin is the old practice of villages marrying off their most unattractive women by tricking a groom into marrying a veiled bride, only seeing his new wife after the marriage has been completed. Weddings were often held in gardens, so the groom would literally be led up the garden path. Although the veil is still commonly used now all over the world, it does not always completely hide the bride's face from view.

Alternative theories suggest that the phrase refers to someone being so distracted by the beauty of the garden that they may be easily fooled.

The first known published occurrence of 'lead you up the garden' is in Ethel Mannin's 'Sounding Brass' (1926) where it refers to women leading men 'up the garden' for the purposes of seduction.

Other Uses

Psycholinguists have adopted the term 'garden path sentence' for a sentence that fools the reader by being grammatically correct whilst beginning in such a way that their most likely first interpretation of it will be wrong. For example: "He told the boy the dog bit Bob would look."

The effect is to cause confusion but is mostly confined to written text, as speech patterns and the emphasis of words tend to prevent misunderstanding in verbal communication.

Well, there you go. Now where does the phrase 'lead you a merry dance' come from?

The Ultimate Spring Clean

Yes folks, it looks like it may finally have happened. The great British weather is showing signs of improvement and a long overdue spring may be upon us.

In Lancashire as with many other parts of the country, the bitterly cold and long winter has left us trapped indoors, watching snow cover our gardens and driveways, all the time itching to get out and do all the things we promised we'd do in the New Year!

Better Late Than Never

Cleaning out garages, weeding, planting, painting fences and hanging out washing for the first time are normally more associated with March than May, but at long last homeowners up and down the country are getting to grips with those essential outdoor maintenance tasks.

As people strive to get their garden ready for the hoped for summer, sales of patio furniture, new hoses and lawn feed will rise, along with creosote, fence panels and more.

Paving / Driveway Damage

The cold winter has had a pretty devastating effect on our gardens and yards though. Freezing temperatures over long periods have wreaked havoc on plants, garden buildings and the ground beneath our feet.

Tarmac and flagged paths, patios and driveways are usually susceptible to cracking and sinking as the ground beneath them repeatedly freezes and thaws, but this winter has been worse than many.

Time For Change

If this has been the fate of your paving, perhaps it is time to consider pattern imprinted concrete? Imprinted concrete is fibre enmeshed to give it greater strength, making it up to 25% harder than even standard concrete.

Not only will it improve your property aesthetically, but will last for years to come and provide a safe outdoor surface for the whole family to enjoy.

So if you're tired of looking at a worn out driveway or want somewhere nice for your summer BBQs, give your garden the ultimate spring clean and call Northern Cobblestone about a pattern imprinted concrete patio, driveway and / or path.

Pattern Imprinted Concrete, Preston

Based on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, Northern Cobblestone have many satisfied customers in the nearby town of Preston and throughout the wider North West area.

Preston Driveways, Patios and More...

Take a look below at a few examples of our pattern imprinted concrete installation within the Preston area:

Concrete patio area with a satin finish installed to a garden in Chorley, near Preston

 

Pattern imprinted concrete driveway in silver grey finish for a property in Penwortham, Preston

 

 

Ashlar slate style driveway with mews cobble edging for a bungalow in Leyland, near Preston

Impressed?

If you live in or near the area, consider Northern Cobblestone for stamped concrete patios, paths, forecourts, steps and driveways in Preston and all surrounding areas, including Bamber Bridge, Chorley, Fulwood, Higher Walton, Hutton, Ingol, Lea, Leyland, Longridge, Longton, Lostock Hall, Penwortham, Ribbleton, Walton-le-Dale and more.

World's Longest Driveway?

A search in Google for the world's longest driveway turns up the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road in the United Arab Emirates.

Stretching for 7.3 miles and climbing nearly 4,000 feet it is no doubt a long mountain road, but is it a driveway?

Possibly Not!

The road itself ends in a car park and passes a luxury hotel (the Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet Al Ain Hotel), a radar station and the Palace of Jebel Hefeet (belonging to the country's rulers) along the way.

Can a 3 lane road that doesn't lead to a single property be classed as a driveway? It has several shorter roads (or driveways) leading off it to the above properties, but it ends in a car park.

The road is tarmac, rather than a dirt track, so perhaps when it was first constructed, the palace (nearest the summit) was the only building and therefore the epitaph of driveway was more deserving?

The Greatest Drive

Regardless of its driveway status, the road is also regarded as one of the world's greatest drives.

Featuring 21 corners, three lanes (two climbing and one descending) and an immaculate surface, it has featured in a number of films and is frequently used by car manufacturers and owners to demonstrate and test their vehicles.

It is also used by cyclists as a gruelling challenge whilst training and is home to an annual road cycling competition.

Want to see what we're talking about? The following YouTube clip shows the British TV Show Fifth Gear putting a car through its paces on the road.

If you fancy having a go yourself, it is just a 2 hour drive from Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The Real World's Longest Driveway?

So, if the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road isn't the world's longest driveway, what is?

Well, the Guiness World Records website doesn't seem to have the answer, but our guess would be that some farm dirt road in Canada, America, Australia, Brazil or perhaps Africa would win the title.

Any thoughts? And do they want us to pattern imprinted concrete it?

Pattern Imprinted Concrete Driveways, Poulton-le-Fylde

Based near to the picturesque market town of Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire, Northern Cobblestone install stamped concrete driveways, patios and more throughout Blackpool, Lancashire and the North West.

Poulton-le-Fylde Driveways

The following are a small selection of our pattern imprinted concrete installations within our home town of Poulton-le-Fylde. Please visit our website for more.

 

 Basalt grey ashlar slate stone style driveway with darker grey cobble edging

 

 Burnt orange mews cobblestone style driveway in matt finish

 Ashar slate style driveway in country sandstone effect for a customer in Poulton-le-Fylde

 Call for a Quote

If you live in the area or perhaps nearby in Great Eccleston, Knott End, Normoss, Pilling, Preesall, Singleton, Skippool or Staining and you're looking for a local installer of pattern imprinted concrete driveways in Poulton-le-Fylde, why not give Northern Cobblestone a call.

Long Lasting Concrete

If you've ever used a pneumatic drill to break some up, you'll know concrete is a hard wearing and long lasting material.

But how long lasting is it? Well, every installation and circumstance is different, but how about 2000 years give or take a few?

Pantheon, Rome

Built nearly two millennia ago, the Pantheon in Rome is a testament to Roman ingenuity and the versatility and durability of concrete.

The concrete dome roof weighs 4,535 metric tons and varies in thickness from 6.4 metres at the base to 1.2 metres around the oculus, a circular opening in the centre that provides natural light for the vast interior.

What have the Romans ever done for us?

As the classic line from Monty Python's Life of Brian goes, sadly we can't claim the Romans invented concrete, but theirs' was perhaps the first civilisation to make widespread innovative use of it.

Freed from the limitations imposed by stone and brick material, they experimented with increasingly complex structural designs including arches, domes and vaults.

Pattern Imprinted Concrete

It would be interesting to see what one of their architects would make of modern portland cement based concrete and other innovations that have taken place in recent years.

Pattern imprinted concrete is one such innovation, providing long lasting and hard wearing driveways, paths and patios with all the appearance of cobbles, granite, slate, flagstones, tiles or even wood.

We're not sure whether we carry any Roman genes, but here at Northern Cobblestone, we're proud to carry on their art, installing pattern imprinted concrete to the homes and businesses of Blackpool, Lancashire and the wider North West.