Sarah and Brian Lynch, Kent
When Sarah and Brian Lynch and their two daughters moved into their recently renovated home in the Kent countryside they initially planned to build a conventional swimming pool. But they had read about swimming ponds, and given the beautiful surroundings of the property they started to consider this instead…
"We looked at a few companies, and went to one of the open days on offer,” says Sarah. “I have to say it was the open day which sold the concept to us. You just have to get into the water to really appreciate it. I say that to everyone now – you have to get in! It’s beautiful, and the smell of your skin afterwards is amazing.
"Anyway Frank [from the design team] came out from Gartenart for a site visit, and I also met Tim, and we decided to go with them."
“The construction went very well – José is fantastic and the team were a pleasure to work with and have around.”
With this project we were digging into clay, so we were able to dig the side walls between the swimming and planting area to profile rather than use retaining structures. The photo here shows the project near the end of excavation.
"I absolutely love it – I said to a friend it’s like the south of France and she said no it’s better than that… because you’ve got everything down here plus you can nip back into the house.
"Several are talking about getting one themselves. Again you do have to get in to really appreciate it. One friend came the other day and put her toe in and said oh no I’m not getting in that. But once she was in she stayed in for about half an hour. People think temperature is an issue but it’s not."
“On one of the warm weekends recently the children were down here all day, in the water virtually the whole time. I just left them to it.
“I love the wildlife too, we’ve had loads of dragonflies for example, and it’s a whole world down here. I think this would appeal to anyone who loves nature.
“I also like to get a coffee and sit down here, it’s incredibly peaceful. It helps you to think about things.”
