Would you spend £150k to snorkel with tadpoles?
Yes, it sounds crazy — but natural water swimming PONDS are the new chichi must-have. And devotees say using them can even make you look younger
We aLL remember that childhood fascination with the local pond, that ocean of usually impenetrably dark brown (or was it green?) water containing — well — who knew what? In the summer, the pond in the village or park always beckoned as a place to swim and cool off for those happy to ignore the inevitable ‘No Swimming’ sign. But often its wild, overgrown air — the obligatory discarded bicycle or shopping trolley, jutting up from its depths — was a sufficient deterrent. Only the foolhardy few took the plunge, communing with the natural world on never-tobe forgotten summer afternoons.
Maybe it is misty-eyed nostalgia for those days that’s behind the increasing popularity of the private swimming pond. This is not so much wild swimming as mild-wild swimming.
a pond, yes, complete with greenery and wildlife, but an artificial one, in one’s own garden, its waters kept crystal clear by a natural filtration process. So clean, in fact, that it can rival bottled water in purity, and requires a minimum of maintenance in comparison with conventional indoor pools — and there’s no horrible chlorine.
Plus, you share that sparkling water with the wildlife — dragon flies, newts, frogs and the rest.
Much better, surely, to swim leisurely through water lilies at dusk than plough through moronic laps in a sterile pool.
There have always been public swimming ponds — Hampstead Heath’s in North-West London being the most famous — but the desire for a pond of one’s own is a relatively new thing.
They became popular in austria about 25 years ago, but swimming ponds are still a rarity in Britain, with some 1,000 installed since the 2000s.
However, its popularity is growing steadily, with orders doubling year on year, fuelled by a belief in the beneficial effects of immersion in unheated, unadulterated H²O.
‘NOTHING’S LIKE SWIMMING NEXT TO A WATER LILY’
ReTIReD farmers Gillian and Peter Cave installed a swimming pond in the garden of their Suffolk vicarage in 2012. ‘It is one of the best decisions we have ever made and the grandchildren love it as much as we do,’ says Gillian.
‘ Crystal- clear water with no chemicals, beautiful plants all around as you swim, easy to keep looking good and wonderful to look at, whatever the season.
‘Last week, it was 23c in the water, so we decided that we had better get out there.
‘ Peter spent hours with his snorkel on, looking at fellow inhabitants — tadpoles, dragon flies and water boatmen. Don’t worry about creatures in the pond because the second you jump in, everything dives for cover.
‘I love to go in at about four in the afternoon. There is something so spiritually restful about swimming at eye-level with water lilies.
‘You’re immersed in the water, and in nature. Swallows arrive at four and skim the water. Gold- finches come and have a bath. It is magical, watching them.
‘There are maintenance tasks, but nothing like the work required to keep an indoor pool sanitised. We vacuum out dead leaves in spring and cut down rushes in the winter. Keeping ducks and moorhens away is a job for our Jack Russell — he only barks at them!
‘Our grandchildren bring their friends to swim and our neighbours enjoy the pool, too. Some come just to look at the water. The pond is a gift that gives in many ways.’ COST: £90,000
‘I USED TO HATE THE COLD, BUT NOT NOW’
NICOLa HuNTeR and her husband, andrew, from Bury St edmunds, incorporated a swimming pond into the centre of their new-build house four years ago. I have wanted one for years, after reading about them, and this was the perfect opportunity to build one,’ says Nicola.
‘We wake up to the pool and then dive in, and it always raises the spirits. I don’t feel the cold that much — indoor pools can be too hot for me. Our pond is 20c at the moment, which is much more refreshing than a chlorinated indoor pool. You always come out feeling great.
‘I used to be a wimp about cold water, like most people. But I gradually got used to it. I love that feeling of being warm all day afterwards. I have no doubts about the benefits of swimming in clean, fresh water — you can feel it doing you good. But it’s not just about swimming. You can spend hours simply observing the wildlife, watching kingfishers at sunset. I simply cannot imagine life without it now.’ COST: £90,000
‘IT’S LIKE DIVING ON A CORAL REEF’
GaRDeN designer Sarah Murch shares her 300sq m pond with her husband Will, their five children, the local Scout troop — who use it to practise life- saving — and Bumble, the family’s Dewlap Toulouse goose.
‘When the children were younger, we used to go on holiday looking for lakes and rivers to dive into,’ says Sarah, who lives near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. ‘Watching them play in rock pools inspired us to plan the swimming pond in our five-acre garden.
‘Now, seven years later, irises, water forget-me-nots and waterlilies flower, and swallows dip into the water. Dragonflies, water beetles and kingfishers visit, bats fly low at dusk and reed warblers nest nearby.
‘You can go in with a snorkel and it’s like diving in a coral reef — you don’t get gnats or biting flies because they like stagnant water.
‘On the hottest day of last year, the water temperature was 26c. The pond stays between 22c and 24c all summer, and I swim until the end of October. I can tolerate down to about 8c, but then I have to stop for the winter. You leave
the water completely rejuvenated. Such is the power of a natural pool — the water washes away the day’s stresses. It is hard to explain why, but there is something incredibly healing about slipping into the pure, silky water and coming out feeling a different person.
‘ I’m still blown away by our pond’s beauty, how different it is day to day, season to season. I’m fascinated by the continuous flow of wildlife it attracts.
‘We have been astounded by how it has enriched our lives.
‘It is the place we come together as a family — the only place where we ever sit down — and we love it so much that for our 50th birthdays this year we are building a cabin beside the water, complete with log burner, so we can sit and enjoy the water all year round. I would love to see public natural pools spread across the UK, in ecological water parks where families can swim, chill out and enjoy picnics by the water.’ COST: ESTIMATED £150,000 IN DIY BUILD company director Ian Lambert and his wife Tina absolutely didn’t want a standard swimming pool in their garden and heard about swimming ponds while looking for an alternative.
‘We have a number of natural ponds in our garden and did think about converting one into a pool, but it proved too difficult, so we went for an artificial pond, instead,’ Ian says. ‘If you want to be a little bit connected with nature, then it is the perfect thing — it does the spirit good.
‘you come out of utterly clean water and don’t even need to shower afterwards, like you would with a chlorinated pool.
‘ you feel calm, refreshed and relaxed. We have constant dragonflies, newts and water boatmen — the pond attracts beautiful wildlife. This year, I have been swimming since april.
‘In the deep midwinter the pool looks so beautiful — and your garden isn’t dominated by an unnatural rectangle of a pool covered by tarpaulin. Having a swimming pond has been completely and utterly life-enhancing.’ COST: £100,000