Knitty gritty

COXWELL self-binding gravel, a unique material produced by aggregate suppliers S. Grundon (Services) Ltd, has been used to landscape the area around the capital's spectacular 'London Eye' Ferris wheel. The central area of the 130m2 site has been covered with over 400 tonnes of the gravel to provide an extended queuing area for the wheel's thousands of visitors.

The golden-coloured material - a composite of sponge gravel and natural grit from Grundon's Faringdon Quarry in Oxfordshire - was chosen for the job because the more it is trampled on, the harder it compacts.