Natural Pools
A defined swimming area, with a separate planted regeneration zone set beside it.
Natural pools explainedTown gardens to estuary slopes
A natural pool shaped by your own garden.
Whether your garden is a town plot in Ipswich or a slope above the Orwell, the design starts with how you want to swim. We also note the trees, views and paths worth keeping.
One team handles both the aquatic design and the landscaping, so the pool and the garden around it are planned together.
Get to know the teamPools & ponds we build
Four types of pool and pond.
Ipswich has a history of river swimming, at bathing places once enclosed within the tidal Orwell. All four types below work without chlorine, and we can help you choose between them.
Swimming Ponds
Open swimming water edged by planting and natural materials, for an informal look.
Swimming ponds explainedLiving Pools
A contemporary-looking pool, cleaned by biological filtration away from where you swim.
Living pools explainedWildlife Ponds
A pond for wildlife and native planting, made for watching rather than swimming.
Wildlife ponds explainedEach price is a guide starting figure and excludes VAT. Quotations are worked out site by site.
Guide to pool costs
One design for pool and gardenWhat we check first
Ground around Ipswich changes from village to village.
British Geological Survey maps show Red Crag sand under most villages to the east and on the Shotley peninsula, London Clay at Sproughton and chalk at Claydon. Gardens can differ from these maps.
Sand & groundwater
Red Crag and Kesgrave sands are loose, so digging needs care. River gravels at Claydon, Great Blakenham and Melton can hold a high water table. We check for both before choosing a construction method.
Access & paths
Machinery needs a workable route in, and excavated soil needs somewhere to go. The design also includes a practical path from the house to the water.
Red brick to Suffolk pink
We choose paving and edging to sit well with red or Suffolk white brick, colour-washed render, pargeting or a timber frame.
How a project begins
See the pool in your garden before we dig.
You can start with no more than a sketch or a few ideas. Together we turn them into a brief for the pool and its surroundings.
Meet in your garden
We look at the ground and existing trees, and discuss swimming space and budget. Mention a listed house or National Landscape setting at this stage.
Start with a consultationReview a design visualisation
You see the planned pool in your garden and can change its position, size or materials before you commit to building.
The visualisation processBuild and hand over
We build the pool, its filtration and the landscaping in one programme, then explain how to look after it.
See the build stagesWe do not charge for the first design consultation, and it commits you to nothing. Photographs of the garden help us prepare.
Arrange a free consultationIpswich, Woodbridge & the Shotley peninsula
Around the Orwell and the Deben.
We design and build across Ipswich and the places listed below. Planning applications there go to Ipswich Borough, Babergh, Mid Suffolk or East Suffolk council.
West & north
Sproughton, Bramford, Washbrook, Copdock, Hintlesham, Capel St Mary, Great Blakenham, Claydon, Henley, Westerfield and Witnesham.
The Orwell & the Shotley peninsula
Nacton, Levington, Bucklesham, Wherstead, Freston, Woolverstone, Pin Mill, Chelmondiston, Tattingstone, Holbrook, Stutton and Shotley.
Woodbridge & the Deben
Woodbridge, Melton, Martlesham, Waldringfield, Kesgrave, Rushmere St Andrew, Playford and Grundisburgh.
Needham Market and Hadleigh appear on our Suffolk page. If your village is not shown, send us your postcode.
Natural pools across SuffolkCare after the build
Support once the pool is finished.
After handover we offer aftercare support and servicing each spring and autumn. We can also look at converting an existing chlorine pool.
Routine pool care
What the water, planting and filtration need, including cutting back the plants each autumn.
Maintenance and aftercareServicing visits
A spring and autumn check of the pump, air system and filtration as the seasons change.
Servicing detailsChlorine conversions
Existing chlorine pools are assessed case by case for a switch to biological filtration.
How conversion worksIpswich pool questions
What to know before you start.
For gardens around Ipswich and Woodbridge, these answers cover planning near the estuaries, sandy and clay ground, filling the pool and cost.
Read the full FAQA question we have not covered
Send your postcode and a line or two about the garden. Choosing a pool type can wait until we have talked.
Request a consultationDo you cover Ipswich from Bury St Edmunds?
Yes. Our Bury St Edmunds team covers Ipswich and the towns and villages around it, including Kesgrave, Woodbridge, Holbrook and Pin Mill. The journey is about 27 miles by road, most of it on the A14. Send your postcode and we can confirm the next steps for your garden.
Who we are ↗Which type of pool suits a smaller garden in Ipswich?
It depends on the space for swimming, filtration and a place to sit. A swimming pond needs room for planted margins, and a living pool needs space for its filtration outside the swimming area. A wildlife pond suits a garden where swimming is not the aim. With rough measurements and photographs, we can say which types could fit.
See how the types compare ↗What does a pool cost for an Ipswich garden?
Excluding VAT, guide prices start from £45,000 for a swimming pond and £80,000 for a natural pool or a living pool. A wildlife pond, designed for habitat rather than swimming, is from £12,000 excluding VAT. The quotation for your garden depends on size, access, finishes and ground conditions, which vary from loose sand to clay around Ipswich.
The natural pool cost guide ↗Is planning different near the Orwell or the Deben?
It can be. The estuaries lie in the Suffolk and Essex Coast and Heaths National Landscape, which takes in Pin Mill, Nacton, Levington and Holbrook, with Woodbridge within a kilometre. Inside it, permitted development does not cover pools and other structures more than 20 metres from the house if together they exceed 10 square metres. Check early with Babergh or East Suffolk council.
Our guide to planning ↗Does sandy or clay ground change how the pool is built?
It can. The Red Crag sands east of Ipswich and on the Shotley peninsula are loose, so the excavation is planned with care. London Clay, found at Melton, Holbrook and Hintlesham, can shrink and swell, especially near trees. Chalk under Bramford and Great Blakenham can contain cavities where it has dissolved. We assess your ground before recommending how to build.
Will I see the design in my garden before work starts?
Yes. Before you commit, a design visualisation shows the proposed pool set into your own garden. It helps you judge the layout on a sloping estuary plot, or the choice of paving beside an older brick or timber-framed house, while changes are still easy to make.
About design visualisation ↗Is it possible to convert our chlorine pool?
Possibly. Each pool is assessed case by case, starting with its structure, current equipment, the space around it and what you want from it. Photographs and details of the filtration help us judge whether biological filtration is realistic. Bear in mind that natural pools are unheated.
Read about chlorine conversions ↗Do you look after pools around Ipswich once they are built?
Yes. We talk you through the routine before handover, then offer maintenance and aftercare support. Servicing visits around Ipswich each spring and autumn cover the pump, air system and filtration, and we agree the level of help that suits your pool and how you use it.
Spring and autumn servicing ↗How is the pool filled and topped up?
We prefer rainwater, as mains water often carries added phosphate that feeds algae. Levington, on the Orwell, averages 568.9 mm of rain a year, about 570 litres for each square metre of roof. East Anglia is one of the driest parts of the UK, and hosepipe restrictions in dry summers can stop filling from the mains.
What should I have ready for the free consultation?
Send photographs, rough measurements, your postcode and a budget range. Tell us if the house is listed, as permitted development does not cover a pool in the grounds of a listed building. In a conservation area, work on trees of 75 mm diameter or more needs six weeks' notice to the council. There is no fee and no obligation.
Book your free consultation ↗