Toby and Susan Burton, Oxfordshire
Toby and Susan Burton live in Hambleden in Oxfordshire with their young family, overlooking the Hambleden valley...
“This is a very attractive outlook and a conventional swimming pool would not have sat there naturally. There is a restrictive covenant in favour of the National Trust and we did not think we would get permission for a pool. However the overriding consideration was that it would not have looked as nice.
"I head about Gartenart through a newspaper article and they were also recommended to me by a landscape gardener we use. I looked at Gartenart’s website and liked a lot of the photos which were very inspirational.”
“The quality of the design was very good – Gartenart provided a lot of detailed drawings early on which gave us a lot of confidence. This was clearly a system that worked well.
"The design, particularly with the bank and different levels, makes it quite a private place even though it’s a very public area.
"I think also the design of their ponds is inherently safer than a pool. There is no abrupt plunge into the water: it tends to shelve gently, and where you want it deep, you can make it less accessible.”
“The water temperature is much better than we expected. We have seen averages of 23 and 24 degrees for long periods and I have a very hard time getting my boys out of the water.
"I do appreciate the fact that there are no chemicals. It is a real plus that we can do without chlorine and filters churning away all the time. The experience of swimming in pure, natural water is so superior to a chlorinated pool or even the sea.
"It is quite amazing also how everybody who walks along the footpath comments on how fabulous the swimming pond is!”
