In theory, if you had a small paved area (extending out 2 metres/6.5ft) falling away from the house in a yard with no current drainage issues, could you dig a trench and fill it with gravel at the end to encourage the water run-off to drain down into the ground?

I plan to lay pavers and want to avoid moving excess water into our neighbour’s yard, and thought about trying to connect a drainage system into the existing drain pipe but I’d be making it up as I go.

So, can this sometimes be an option? I’m thinking of it as sort of a pipe-free French drain but that’s not really what it is, I wouldn’t be directing the water to any particular location other than down into the subsoil and below. We’ve had a fair bit of rain recently and had zero drainage issues, water doesn’t pool on the surface for long.