The brief for this project was to create a healthy, natural swimming environment for a family of four—a couple and their two young boys—while enhancing the biodiversity and natural beauty of the landscape surrounding their period thatched Cornish cottage.
The chosen site, a gently sloping meadow adjacent to the property, required careful design considerations to ensure the swimming pond integrated seamlessly into the surrounding landscape while remaining functional.
The final design utilised the excavated subsoil and topsoil to construct a compacted bund, creating a level area to retain the pool’s water. This bund was later planted with wildflowers to blend the new structure harmoniously with the existing meadow.
A natural, pond-like shape was designed, featuring a deeper, rectilinear swimming zone at its centre. Locally sourced timber from Falmouth docks was used to frame the swim zone, while field boulders, sourced by the client from nearby farms, were strategically placed to naturalise the edges and provide diving platforms into the deeper section.
At Natural Pools Cornwall, we prioritise creating sustainable, healthy swimming environments with minimal carbon footprints. Wherever possible, we specify locally sourced, natural materials over carbon-intensive options like concrete or imported stone.
For this project, we selected native, locally grown aquatic plants, which not only provide food and habitat for wildlife but also play a vital role in water filtration and nutrient balance. These plants were carefully positioned and planted at specific depths within a washed gravel substrate in the regeneration zone. Over time, this substrate develops a colony of beneficial bacteria that breaks down micro and macro nutrients, contributing to the natural cleaning of the water.
The combination of these planted zones, along with UV and mechanical particulate filters, eliminates the need for expensive and unhealthy chemical treatments, ensuring a safe and sustainable swimming environment for the family.
