[BabbyAnn]

You waste so much space with loads of paths.

Not to disagree with you, but I have 4' beds and 18" paths, and I plant right to the edge of the bed which, in effect, uses some of the path as "growing space"

I'm inclined to agree with Kristen - it's an old arguement, yet at the end of the day I think the main issue should be what you feel comfortable with.  I share a plot with a friend who rotavates his entire half every year and plants out in blocks, I have my half full of raised beds and I harvest just as much as he does.  When we took on the plot, my first year was so frustrating and now having permanent beds helps me to manage the plot better in so many ways.

[bigben]

I go for big beds, up to 5m x 4m. Just use a few walking boards as required. You waste so much space with loads of paths. My plot possibly produces more fruit and vegetables than most of the allotments on our site.

That is the size of my "terraces" on my sloping allotment - I have a path up both edges to allow me to cut my hedges and walk up either side but the rest does not have  permanent paths.