Strawberries in cradles?

Has anyone tried growing strawberries in cradles? They showed a very brief snippet on Gardeners' World last night. I'm intrigued to see if there are as many benefits as the time to make the cradle and maintain it would require.

 

I haven't tried cradles, but it looked quite labour intensive to me. Depends how much ground space you've got!
The variety 'Flamenco' does very well for me in hanging baskets- it's a perpetual variety. Much easier to set up.

 

Ground space is a big problem for me unfortunately. I'm trying hanging bags this year for my strawberries. I'll try "Flamenco" out. I did order some Maxim from T&M. It'll be interesting to see if they come out anything like the picture on the web!

 

I saw the Gardeners World programme when it was first shown three years ago

I tried the cradle method but didn't allow for the increased weight when the soil was wet and the plants had grown.. the supports for the cradles gradually sank into the soil... needless to say I have now resorted to growing my strawberries in raised beds