[Jonajo]

Got a few raised beds, great.

 but to save much money i decided that rather than go for more formal raised beds in all their linearly wooden glory i dug all the path ways deeper, and dug around exisiting normal beds to give them more definition.

[seaside]

One thing that does worry me about raised bed gardening is the effect on your back.
These beds are usually 3 to 4 feet wide. When digging the bed with a fork, one stands outside the bed presumably ? and lifts  soil a good 2 feet away from the body. Not a good idea at all. Normally one stands directly over the implement and digs directly down.

[mumofstig]

Use a board across the bed if you need to dig  The idea is not to have to dig as much (or at all? ) - simply loosening the soil with a fork - rather than actually digging 

[surbie100]

I'm not sure how much this is 'what's done normally', but I stand on mine to dig them, working backwards so I don't tread on the area that's done. They are dug once a year, depth depending on enthusiasm.

Mine are raised more for drainage than anything else, and the clay seems to really benefit from being fluffed up, but my soil does seem to re-compact quite easily. I was very surprised at how hard the broad bed I didn't dig this spring was this week - I had to virtually jump on the spade in some bits to get it in (and I am built on stately lines!  ).

[Beetroot queen]

I'm not sure how much this is 'what's done normally', but I stand on mine to dig them, working backwards so I don't tread on the area that's done. They are dug once a year, depth depending on enthusiasm.

Mine are raised more for drainage than anything else, and the clay seems to really benefit from being fluffed up, but my soil does seem to re-compact quite easily. I was very surprised at how hard the broad bed I didn't dig this spring was this week - I had to virtually jump on the spade in some bits to get it in (and I am built on stately lines!  ).

We stand on them to do the big dig also working our way out of the bed

[gedgemeister]

Many thanks for all the comments, very helpful and I feel more positive than when I first posted this thread. I have 6 in total and room for another 3 8 x 4, but I'll wait until next season to install theose should my current lot prove successful.