Shocked - paving prices. Ideas?

Hitch

I think id go with Dander on this one. If you want a change on the cheap, pull up a few random ones, and put in some plants with a bit of chipped bark to fill in around the plants. Possibly give it all a good powerwashing aswell. An easy way to make a big difference.
Perhaps a few tubs or something sat ontop aswell, to make it not seem so 'flat'

andrew-b

I wouldn't dismiss having a lawn totally. Borrow a recent copy of Lawn Expert by D G Hessayon from your library and you'll see there is various advice on growing a lawn on different types of soil. I can't remember offhand but i think you may need to incorporate sand or loam to improve the soil conditions or even bring in some decent topsoil. There are grass seed mixes that are more tolerant to shade (see http://www.johnsonslawnseed.com/shadyplace.php for example). It would take a fair bit of work to prepare the lawn but it'll probably save you an absolute packet in comparison to re-paving the area..plus it's more friendly to the environment that's being concreted over at quite an alarming rate.

Andy