Cobbles & Setts

Sandstone, Limestone and Granite Setts

Stone setts are one of the most versatile design options for paths and patios. Ideal for a variety of uses, including edging paths and patios, they allow you to introduce texture and detail that gives character to your garden design. They are also perfect as driveway cobbles, offering a hard-wearing, long-lasting frontage to your house. In two sizes to create different effects, setts come in a range of colours and finishes to suit contemporary and traditional settings and can even be cut to bespoke sizes to extend your design choices.

Possibilities with setts are numerous - take a look at Paving Setts - Small Detail with Big Impact for more ideas.

Surface finish and edge options

Our paving setts come in a range of surface and edge finishes. For a contemporary feel, sawn and flamed granite setts suit the crisper lines of modern and urban spaces. If this feels too sharp, take a look at Mint sandstone setts, which are sawn and tumbled for a slightly softer outline that maintains a modern vibe.

Granite setts are also available in a riven (sometimes called “natural split”) finish with hand-cut edges. These add a rustic, stone cobble quality to more traditional settings. Apart from Mint, our sandstone setts have a riven surface with hand-cut edges. You can choose from a riven finish or riven and tumbled. Tumbling is a way to "age" setts and can be a good choice when you want paving to look as if it's been in situ for years.

Match setts and paving

All our stone setts are also available in matching paving. This allows you to create a unified design with textural variation. Even more options can be found in our riven Indian sandstone colours—Raj Green, Mint, Autumn Brown and Kandla Grey—which are also available as garden edging stones and paving circles. Together with matching sandstone setts, these give you a plenty of design combinations to play with. Edging stones are also available to match our granite setts.

Driveway cobbles

Granite setts in particular are extremely hard-wearing, which is why you see them so frequently used as driveway cobbles. They are very stain-resistant and need almost no maintenance. Whether you choose granite, sandstone or limestone, we always recommend darker colours for driveways, as they are high-traffic areas - because of both footfall and parking. If stains from dirt and oil drips do occur, they won't appear so obvious. Midnight Black limestone and Kandla Grey sandstone setts would both make practical but stylish choices. Or consider mixing and matching with other materials - find out more about paving suitable for driveways.

If you are considering paving your driveway with our lighter-coloured sandstone setts, especially Mint, we always recommend sealing, to help increase stain-resistance and to make cleaning easier.

How long will the cobbles take to lay? Take a look at how experts lay garden and driveway setts. This should help you understand the stages that go into a lasting installation of stone setts.

Alternatives to stone setts

• Porcelain setts have the same 200x100mm dimensions as stone, but with more contemporary styling.
• Clay pavers offer a huge range of colour and are one of several paving options for driveways.
• Stone pavers (patio bricks) have a particularly modern, sleek appearance enhanced by sawn edges and slim dimensions. Discover more in How to Use our New Stone Pavers.

What is the difference between cobbles and setts?

Traditionally cobbles are rounded stones that have reached their shape through natural weathering. They are ranked in size between pebbles and boulders. Cobbles are frequently used now as a decorative garden feature, especially in fountains and rills. Cobbles are an excellent choice for adding textural contrast and there are lots of ways to use cobbles in combination with paving.

By contrast, setts are square or rectangular, and have been made into that shape either by hand or machine. Historically, both square and rectangular setts have been used to pave roads, and cobble paving is a familiar surface that's often used in heritage areas, such as The Shambles in York. As far as modern paving is concerned, "setts" and "cobbles" are terms that are often used interchangeably, which is why we use both.

How to stop weeds growing between driveway setts

No one wants a weedy driveway, spoiling the look of their property. Where weeds occur, they root themselves into the joints between stone setts. The number of joints obviously depends on the size of the paving and there are far more joints in a driveway laid with, for example, granite setts than there would be if you laid larger slabs. While sand and cement are still widely used to fill joints, we recommend using GftK, a brush-in resin mortar. Weeds find it hard to take root, and freeze/thaw action won't open up the joints to allow seeds to work their way in.