In article ,
mandyp wrote:

My incorrect spelling certainly explains why I couldn't find anything
when I did a google on it!!

Think of it as extending the language - look up the origin of the
word butterfly sometime :-)

The slabbed area is about 7 ft X 8 ft. There are also bits of path that
are crazy paving in concrete and the area full of Mare's tail (correct
spelling!) and a variety of plants/bushes and trees is about 9 ft X 9
ft. It was our intention to grass this as the opposite side of the
garden gets the sun, so we'd like a patio there.

To be honest, it's as much a time issue for paying someone to do this,
I attempted to dig out weeds and spent a day trying to clear an area
about 3 ft square! You're probably right, tools would help, I was
working with a shovel and fork. It looks daunting and in light of the
time I spent I thought it'd be easier to get someone in.

Get a grub-axe (pick-mattock) from any good agricultural merchant,
rural hardware store or whatever. That is a pickaxe with one side
being a blade 4" wide at right angles to the handle. It makes one
HELL of a difference when clearing rough ground, and you don't need
to be a navvy to use it - swing it up and its weight will bring it
down again.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.