we have just moved to a new house where the garden appeared to have been landscaped, but when we had a rainfall lots of water stayed on the surface, grass is like a sponage and the gravel looks more
like a pond? what can we do to try and sort this out? very much a beginner to gardening.

The builders probably flattened the soil, then laid topsoil on top (happened to us). You have to break through the lower level or it will never drain. You could try picking a low spot and dig down 2-3 feet in a small hole. Fill the bottom half with gravel then top up with soil and let it settle. If that's not enough, you'll need to do it again in another part of the garden. We ended up digging a trench down one side of the whole garden, but I wouldn't start off with that!

It's hard to believe there was recently a hosepipe ban in place in some parts of the country (now lifted) with the level of rainfall some of us have received. I realise that, just as train tracks can have the wrong sort of leaves, we often now get the wrong sort of rain - torrents in sporadic bursts, rather than a steady flow throughout the year, which would go a long way to topping up the reservoirs. It doesn't help your garden either, Lisa, but Val seem to know what she's talking about. Let us know if you have any luck.

You do not say for how long these puddles last for. I suggest you dig a big hole, say 60cm x 60cms x 60 deep then fill it with water and see how long it takes to drain away. If it all drains away in 24hours then life is quite tolerable!!!While the hole is empty have a look at the cross section to see if there is a compacted or impervious layer visible in the profile. We had an old farmyard buried under our front garden! Take a good look at your soil and see if you can mould a handful into sausage shapes which will indicate a high clay content which often accompanies poor drainage.
Digging the hole gives a good insight into the problem.
Also look at neighbours down pipes and soakaways - do they all feed into your garden????
I have "sand slitted" a small lawn that remained too wet for the grass to grow well. This involved making a continuous "V" shape slit with a spade at intervals across the lawn and pouring in gritty sand. The slits need to be made so that they create a gradient so the water can drain through the grit to a French drain on the edge of a border. This worked really well and the lawn has improved no end. It is a bit tedious but ideal for a small lawn. Good luck.

It might just be that you have wet soil couple with compaction caused during construction.

If you dom any planting you should dig a decent sized pit and incorporate plenty of compost into soil. If your soil is a swet as you say you should use more moisture loving plants. You can find these by using a plant finder website such as www.findmeplants.co.uk which will help you select suitable plants.

My garden is on a slope, and heavy rain runs from next doors garden into the right side of mine , and all the way down making the bottom third  like a swamp. I have had a land drain put in  down the right side and a soakaway ,which has helped , but as the whole area is thick clay, I think I will have to finish up with a big Bog garden, and watch what plants I buy