Jon Brewer and Rosy Rathbone, Buckinghamshire
Just over six years ago, a story in a magazine featuring Gartenart Swimming Ponds caught Rosy Rathbone’s eye. She had just moved with Jon to rural Buckinghamshire, and, having grown up with a freezing Victorian pond in her parents’ garden, wanted to know more…
“I remember seeing a picture of one of Tim’s ponds in the English Garden and at the time I thought Wow!... It had been in the back of our minds ever since.
"Why a swimming pond? For me I wanted something that looked like a pond, and I wanted lots of aquatic plants. I had also done a bit of wild swimming although not as much as I’d wanted to.
"Jon was more interested in the swimming aspect as his main reason, although we’d never considered a conventional pool, and he also liked the fact that this looks like a pond."
“We decided to start in the November - our rationale was to have the pond ready for the spring so we would get a full swimming season.
"Jose and the team had terrible weather conditions at times - first rain, then snow and ice. At one point they were stuck on the M25 for eight hours when coming down to us and luckily were able to stay over with neighbours.
"Nevertheless, the pond was ready for action by the target date in March."
“Now we’re delighted – it’s such good fun and the water is actually warm. Daisy, my three-year-old, swam every day last summer and my 78-year-old Mum is one of its greatest fans.
"It makes you use your garden in a different way. It makes us much more likely to choose to spend the day at home rather than going out somewhere.
"We expected just to use it in the summer, but it has been a delight during all four seasons.”
