Our Natural Pool project at Downton started when we were approached by a client to undertake a new project that he had been planning. He had recently purchased a house with a large area of land. This consisted of an overgrown field landscape and what looked to be a couple of old ponds. The original plan was for Landmarc to restore the old ponds and landscape the surrounding garden area. However, once all the vegetation was cleared, it was revealed that what were thought to be old ponds were actually old slurry pits! This meant that a totally different approach had to be adopted…
First, we needed to come up with a solution for the newfound slurry. This would involve arranging disposal in an environmentally friendly manner. So, we put forward a proposal to the client which would maximise the potential of their site. They liked the plan and work commenced to create a unique waterscape.
To ensure that no more slurry would enter the pool, we made use of the existing drainage on site as well as the run-off. This would make sure that the pool is only kept topped up by a clean water borehole and selected rainwater run-off. The landscaping work included turfing the perimeter of the pool with areas of wildflowers. It also included the construction of a stream, waterfalls and a header pool as a feature closer to the house. Landmarc created this using a variety of granite rocks, some of these rocks weighed up to 3 tons! As part of our proposal, we also re-landscaped the lawns and constructed new pathways surrounding the natural swimming pool.
