Hi Andy, thanks for your reply... but, ummm.... no there isn't.

The fields a
Axis Options
Minimum
Maximum
Major Unit
Minor Unit
Values in Reverse Order
Logarithmic Scale
Display units
Show display units label on chart
Major tick mark type
Minor tick mark type
Axis labels (this is the closest thing, but still not quite right - only
options for putting the labels above or below the chart, not to specify the
offset)
Vertical axis crosses

Nothing about distance to the axis. Any other suggestions?