Railway sleepers for raised flower beds

If you’re looking for an attractive and inexpensive way to spruce up your garden, have you thought about creating raised flower and plant beds using railway sleepers? We have a stock of used railway sleepers that could well be ideal for your gardening projects.

Creating a raised bed out of railways sleepers is becoming popular – probably due to the fact that a well-made bed made from sleepers is strong, will last you a long time, and looks lovely and natural in any sized garden.

Our sleepers are Sleepers are 8'6" x 10" x 6" and weigh about 80kgs each, and they can be used horizontally, or cut them lengthways and lay them as if they were timber posts. Either way they’ll be ideal.

When you’re building your raised beds, remember that railway sleepers are wide, so you will have to reach across them to get to the soil in your beds. For this reason, some people also lay them on their edge. They are easy to use and will only cost you £22 + VAT per sleeper.

Some of the advantages of using railway sleepers are:

• They look great
• They last a long time – sometimes up to 15 years.
• The extra width gives you somewhere else to sit!

You do need to remember that:
If you use them lengthways, you can only make square or rectangular beds
They can be heavy – ask a friend to help!
If you’re interested in getting hold of some sleepers, we can deliver (costs vary depending on your location). If you prefer, you can also collect them from our storage facility in Cowdenbeath, Fife.

Creosote
Our treated sleepers are treated with creosote which means that they shouldn’t be used anywhere there is risk of constant skin contact. Don’t use them inside buildings on playgrounds, or to make toys, garden furniture or picnic tables.
This video is really helpful if you want ideas about how to make your own raised flower beds with railway sleepers.

Rossiter’s Avalon rowers reach Seychelles in record breaking time

An intrepid British-led crew has broken two world records for the fastest-ever crossing of the Indian Ocean in a rowing boat. The crew of the Rossiter’s Avalon achieved the longest rowing record after arriving in the Seychelles at 14:58 GMT (18:58 local time) on Thursday 7th August.

It was an eventful journey; after setting out from Geraldton, Australia on June 11, the crew, who originated from Britain, Australia, South Africa and Iceland, covered a distance of over 4,200 miles to the Seychelles in just 57 days. They managed this despite capsizing three times, losing equipment, colliding with a whale, and the evacuation of a crewman. They also dealt with hurricanes, broaching, broken oars, auto-helm failure and huge waves…

The way forward for this determined team was old fashioned manual helming for the majority of the voyage, which meant reducing the crew to five - and when a remaining crew member became injured the crew was reduced even further.

The Victoria Port Authority was on hand to welcome the Avalon, and make preparations for landfall. Family & friends of crew members went out on a pilot boat to meet Rossiters’s Avalon.

At the quayside, the crew’s amazing achievement was celebrated with champagne, and the ‘ORE’ team were formally welcomed to the Seychelles by the British High Commissioner, Mrs Lindsay Skoll and Prof Rolph Payet, Minister for Environment in the Seychelles.

The seven rowers raised thousands of pounds for their chosen charities, including Save the Elephants (to help in their ongoing battle against the ivory trade) and Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia.

Naturally, the event called for a few beers, after which everyone was off for a much deserved hot shower and slap up meal.  It was great to hear that the eventful expedition had ended so successfully, and everyone at t ward would like to congratulate the determined skipper and crew!