Oliver and Charlotte Morgan and their children live in Suffolk. “I think we first read about swimming ponds in a magazine,” says Oliver. “We didn’t know anyone who had one. But we did know we wanted something natural, we wanted something that worked, and we wanted something we’d want to use.”
“We looked at a few companies, what they did and how long they’d been doing it. We then made a few initial enquiries about cost and how the technology worked, what we could expect, and assessed the credibility of what we were being told.
“When Tim came he was able to explain clearly in layman’s terms how it worked, and that convinced us.
“You do still have various concerns though beforehand – such as will the water be clear and will the temperature put people off?”
“The construction went very well – the guys were fantastic, I’ve got nothing but praise for the fact they worked through that very snowy, hard winter and delivered the pond on time. “
With this project we were digging into pure sand, so we had to build a blockwork wall between the swimming and planting area. The photo here shows the footings being prepared.
“In the first month to six weeks the water was a little cloudy and we wondered then whether the balance of micro-organisms would do the job and if it would become clear. And in fact it did become clear and it’s been clear ever since.
“I would say the pond has exceeded our expectations. We wanted something that worked and clearly it works – the water’s beautiful. How often do you normally swim in fresh water? Very rarely - it’s either the sea or the swimming pool. Swimming in fresh water is wonderful. It’s like swimming through silk.”
“We also wondered whether the temperature would put us and particularly the children off. In fact the children were in the water pretty much every day all the way through the summer, and quite a long way into the autumn with wetsuits. In that sense, having it here and usable throughout a large chunk of the year is just fantastic.
“In terms of what it looks like, again I would say it’s exceeded our expectations because it’s just beautiful. It really is.”
One of the best aspects for Oliver is the way it’s changed the way the family use the house and garden.
“The children just adore it. Their friends want to come back all of the time. Our own friends love it although some get it and some don’t - most interestingly though everyone’s children get it.
“All of the children have had a party here. We’ve had a party here. We didn’t use this end of the garden at all, and now we’re down here most of the summer.”
