Irrigating the imagination

Find out about the Great British Gardens where water is used to give a sense of beauty, calmness and tranquillity and provide a home for wildlife

With high summer beckoning, John Lewis-Stempel reflects on the incomparable richness of pond life and the rewards of pausing to peer into the murky depths on a warm June afternoon

Flooded in 1928 ( above ) when it ...

NO LONGER JUST SIMPLE BLUE RECTANGLES GLISTENING IN THE SUN, POOLS ARE TAKING ON DIFFERENT FORMS AND COLOURS – DIVE RIGHT IN TO SEE WHAT THE BEST DESIGNS DELIVER

Idyllic swimming ponds are becoming a feature of Britain’s most stylish gardens. Charlotte Brook seeks expert advice on how to take the freshwater plunge

The seaside lido offered safe swimming for holidaymakers irrespective of the vagaries of the tide. Kathryn Ferry looks at the architecture of these remarkable creations