Where to start with constantly muddy, boggy garden and a crap lawn?!

[need15]

God I hate our back garden, well the soil at least. I think it clay? It's always muddy and boggy and slippy. (Apart from the height of summer when it cracks in places...?) Winter is a nightmare. Kids still like to play out there and everything gets covered in mud! The lawn is always patchy too.
Where do I start sorting this out please? DIY solutions (I'm no great gardener...!) or get a gardener in? If the latter, are there fail safe solutions or is it trial and error (and expensive!) til they isn't what works? Thanks!

[howtorebuild]

Sand is your friend.

[howtorebuild]

www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-aerate-your-lawn.html

[need15]

We've aerated it's few times, with a fork. That's what you mean is it? No difference unfortunately.
What's the deal with sand please?

[howtorebuild]

Sweep sand I to the forked holes. It's not a one off job, you continue until the soil is improved.

[need15]

Thanks. Roughly how often should you do the sand thing? Is it worth doing now, over the winter too?

[DoreenLethal]

Yes add as much sand as you can. Also, you could if you wanted to, rotavate a load of sand in, rake it flat and resow the grass a bit higher than it originally was. Depends on how you want to roll really.

[need15]

Thanks Doreen!

[Ferguson]

But NOT builders sand, and also peat or compost should help.

[rambunctious]

Although, i suspect that no amount of sand is going to help the lawn if it is going to be trampled on all year round.
I have a similar problem. My DCs love to be out in the garden all year, and I'm afraid I've had to accept the fact that my lawn is shot. I aerate and rake sand into it regularly, but the grass is just not having a chance to recover with little feet continually squashing it!

[gingeroots]

I've wondered if using a lawn protection mesh www.matsgrids.co.uk/grass-protection-meshes/76-grass-protection-mesh-gm450.html?fo_c=730&fo_k=2feee943bffee6e8dd126fab13eb6cb9&fo_s=gplauk&gclid=CjwKEAiAhPCyBRCtwMDS5tzT03gSJADZ8VjRT65mEsINUhTl-wWVTF0Ql9gscAbRq77xfd4TmzVHKRoCmIDw_wcB#/grassmesh-gm450_1m_x10m/mesh-gm450_1m_x10m
might work ,but haven't tried it .

Has anyone any experience ?

[Readysteadyknit]

ginger I keep wondering about these two mainly because Ddog1 keeps digging huge holes in the lawn which develop into muddy quagmires over time. I have used similar mesh in field gateways which were being used by horses and they made a big difference

[gingeroots]

Well if it worked with horses it sounds promising ..