THIS is why I joined Gransnet - to hear how others are doing it (ageing gracefully, and being grandparents)! Your posts are so spot-on!! I too do the 'hand-rail haul', and the 'sideways' climb and descent - dodgy knees from years of extreme sports+trifocal lenses=dread of stairs now I'm in my 60s.
Our current home is becoming a nightmare - inside the stair risers are so narrow I hate having to make the climb, I'm always worried I'm going to fall. Outside the only way to the back garden (and my washing line) is via a set of 25 narrow riser concrete steps - I fell down those 2 March 2016 resulting in breaking and dislocating everything in my dominant hand-wrist-arm-shoulder-collarbone, and I still can't tie an apron behind my back. (And my tennis backhand is gone, just gone completely)
We're looking for a new home (hopefully by spring). Deal-breaker no matter how much we love the house is if there are ANY stairs in the garden. If the new home comes with inside stairs, the first thing we're doing is fitting a stairlift but my hope is we'll find a nice bungalow or cottage all on one level. Including the gardens.