Shaman -
Call me old-fashioned - NO! - it's just for feeble little mothers, au-pairs and other female people who need us big, hairy cavemen to protect their poor little bodies from the harsh realities of life in Forest Hill in the 21st Century. (That's what you wanted me to say wasn't it? (because everyone knows that mens' only association with buggies is on a male-only golfcourse (TOSSER!)))

Perryman -
Thanks. I agree that I may have been a tad over-optimistic but my calculations did take into account the overhang and, at 14 degrees, it is quite surprising how long the ramp would be. However, I bumped into Michael this afternoon and he told me that it's steeper than the maximum allowable gradient of 11 degrees for a pedestrian slope (sorry, I'm not up on the technical terms for these things). I pointed out that my idea wasn't purely a slope, but a stretched-out staircase, which threw the debate open again.

Anyway, I only put this out there in the faint hope that it might work or, if it doesn't, someone cleverer than me might feel INCLINED (ha!) to put their thinking cap on and offer up their their thoughts.