Cobbles or ballast

[Bandit Mick]

A bit of advice please. I’ve added a third board to my layout. The main area at the back is a brewery. At the front I am modelling a disused canal - the idea being that, with the coming of the railways, the canal is no longer used. My question is - do I have an area of cobbles/setts at the front by the side of the canal and use a gravel/ballast area around the brewery and between the tracks or should I have setts just around the brewery and between the tracks and have gravel/ballast by the canal. Alternatively, should the whole board be cobbles/setts? Your advice would be much appreciated.
P.S The new board is 5 feet long by 2 feet deep.

[Steve M]

I would think the brewery area would be cobbled while the older canal area would be ripe for a soil/ballast/grass mix. The trick will be blending the transition between the areas.

[Mountain Goat]

Cobbles are for areas in frequent use. Other areas will have gravel or other materials such as ash etc. So basically use what works the best for you.

[Bandit Mick]

Thank you for your replies. Now it’s time to get down to work!