Ready for ROBO CHOP?

Robotic mowers are all the rage in Europe, and now our Queen has one. Constance Craig Smith investigates...

Anyone who has visited the Queen’s estate at Sandringham in Norfolk recently may have observed a small, squat figure trundling up and down the immaculate lawns.

No, not Prince Louis showing off his walking skills to greatgrandma, but an even newer (and rather surprising) addition to the royal household: a robotic mower.

Although they sound like something out of a sci-fi film, lawn- care robots have actually been around since the mid-1990s. They are popular in mainland Europe, where gardens tend to be larger, but they have been slow to catch on in the UK. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the sophistication of the technology, they are quite an investment, with prices ranging from £ 450 to over £3,000. However, these are coming down all the time, and there are lots of discounts to be had, so it’s worth shopping around. The Queen’s mower is believed to be a top-of-the-range Miimo from Honda ( yes, the same people who make cars).

So how do these mowers work? Before you start using it, the robot needs some guidance, which almost always involves installing an electronic perimeter around your garden. The perimeter wire is laid around the edge of the lawn, under the turf, and it stops the mower careering off into flower beds or crashing onto the patio. In a small garden this will be a quick job, but for a large garden with island beds or awkward corners it can take hours. Some manufacturers and dealers will do the wire installation for you.

Robotic mowers are powered by rechargeable batteries and return to their charging station once they have done the mowing or when the battery is running low. This means installing a weatherproof power outlet in a suitable place in your garden. Most mowers operate with simple push buttons, but some models can be control

led via a smartphone app, so you can give it instructions remotely – for instance, changing its programming when you’re away on holiday.

When choosing which mower to buy, you’ll need to factor in the size of your lawn. Mowers come with a maximum lawn size, indicating how many square metres they can cut without needing to be recharged. Make sure you buy one which can comfortably cover your lawn. If you have a sloping lawn, you’ll need a mower with enough power to cope with it, so take this into account as well, and most mowers have a maximum slope gradient.

You’ll also need to consider whether you want a model that can continue mowing in the rain, or if you’d prefer one that has a rain sensor and goes back to the docking station when it starts raining. And if your garden isn’t secure, you’ll need a model with anti-theft devices like a GPS tracker.

Alison Whiter, 59, and her husband Richard, who’s in his 70s, from Overstrand in Norfolk, bought their mower last autumn. Like the Queen, they chose a Miimo for their garden, which is about 20m long. ‘We got the dealer to set it up for us but we could have managed it ourselves as it wasn’t too difficult; the perimeter wire was just tucked under the turf and is now invisible,’ Alison says. ‘The Miimo stays in the dock in winter; in spring and autumn it’s programmed to mow a few times a week. In warm weather, when the lawn is growing fast, it gives a light trim every day and the grass clippings are left on the lawn as a mulch, returning nutrients to the soil.’

Although the mower has occasionally got stuck, Alison and Richard are delighted with it. ‘It’s a lazy way of caring for your lawn,’ Alison says. ‘It requires minimum effort from us, and when we go away we know the lawn is going to be mowed.

‘It’s also much less noisy than a conventional mower, and an object of great fascination. The first time we used it, our neighbours rang to say they thought there was a badger on our lawn. It’s mesmerising to watch.’ So was it worth the investment? ‘Definitely,’ Alison says. ‘We love it. I’d recommend one to anyone who wanted to cut down on the time they spend looking after their lawn.’