I know my pools are only itty bitty teeny tiny pools, especially compared to some of the amazing monsters on this site, but they've been / are my pride & joy, are much loved and have provided endless fun and enjoyment. So I'm sharing our pool history from out little garden in England.
I lived on the outskirts of London for a decade and the last year of living there, they opened up the old Lido. It was closed 2 years before I moved there. My daughter was one that summer and we spent as many hot days there as possible and had a great time.
http://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/Hillingdon_Sport_and_Leisure_Complex /facility/Outdoor_pool
We moved north, at the end of that summer and into my Dad's house with him. No public open air pools locally, a couple of private gyms have small open air pools, but they're expensive and a fair drive away. I wasn't happy about leaving the newly opened Lido behind, especially after ten years of living there and no Lido!
It's a small terraced house, but has quite a long garden for houses in the area but narrow about 14ft. The garden has a kitchen extension, small lawned area and then a garage and drive.
Garden & garage.
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Not a pool, but a Dora attempt at water fun in the garden.
It was fun & definitely got you wet & cool
Our first pool in the garden.
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The following summer, we had some money and decided to have the garage taken down and make more space for our daughter to play in. We got a shed, a play house, a trampoline, a children's picnic table which you could take the top off and there was a sand pit. Turned out to a paltry inch of sand to play with, so we got a sandpit shell, with a matching lid, you could fill with water too.
Before.
During
After
With new shed
With new outdoor toys
I guess, this is our 2nd pool.
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We used the space left on the garage foundations to set up different activities. Like the flyboat filled with balls.
The last summer in London, we'd been to a first birthday party of one of my daughter's 'friends'. The garden the party was in, had an Easy Set pool on the patio . . . . I was still craving the Lido we'd left behind in London . . . the flyboat on mats had given me an idea.
The following year I was on the hunt for pool number three, watching 8ft Intex Easy Set pools on eBay. There was a used but good condition pool with an over the top filter with a Buy It Now price of £35. We bought it in the spring and it sat under our dining table until the first week of June. People scoffed and joked we wouldn't have the weather to use it. I didn't care. If it was hot enough for one days splashing I would be more than happy.
We had to rejig the garden toys a bit. The playhouse moved closer to the house, as did the cosy coupe and the rubbish sand table moved to in front of the shed. That made plenty of space for the 8ft pool and the old garage foundations being perfectly flat made the perfect base.
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We got some EVA camping mats from Aldi. Holey ones for around the outside, so it wouldn't be slippy and whole ones for the middle of the pool. This worked well, really comfy underfoot, or under knees - I spend a lot of time chasing littler legs in the pool, on my knees :-D
Little legs loved it as much as I did.
My absolute favourite thing to do. Floating on the pool, reading a book. You can see how the filter attached to the pool in this photo too.
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It's the perfect spot for a bite of breakfast.
But look at all that space . . . . . I was already planning my next pool.
The weather was the best we'd had in years. Bona fide 'heat wave'. We spent sooeeee much time in the pool. We had so much fun. It was the best purchase EVER. As for the scoffers, given that shops and online stores had sold out, they were a pleasant shade of green.
My husband had been dubious, but supportive, of the my whole pool obsession. He couldn't complain though, we were getting so much use out of the pool, little legs adored it. We had a birthday party for her at a soft play place, when we got home, we just took the cover off & in she popped. So simple & easy, yet masses of free fun.
- - - Updated - - -
The end of the summer came
But little legs wasn't giving the pool up without some serious last playing in it.
- - - Updated - - -
I spent the winter trawling online stores, eBay and Amazon trying to find the best price on a 10ft Easy Set. I had the perfect pack chosen with filter pump, solar cover, debris cover, ladder and heater. We were going on holiday for a week in May and planned to order it as soon as we got back. Husband had laid concrete in the gap between the garage foundations and the edging stones that separated the grass from the path, so that there was a couple more inches of hard standing.
Everyday on holiday I checked the pack online. Then one day, there ladders were no longer available!
As soon as we got home, I rang them up, they had sold out of ladders, but had a larger set available for more money. I was having them. New pool ordered or pool number 4. Happy happy happy.
It arrived and a few days later we were putting it up. First week of June, a few days earlier than last year.
Aldi didn't have anymore camping mats in, so I bought some in a slightly different size and cut them to fit down the edge.
Starting out.
Mats, how they'd been under the 8ft pool.
New mats cut to fit.
I lived on the outskirts of London for a decade and the last year of living there, they opened up the old Lido. It was closed 2 years before I moved there. My daughter was one that summer and we spent as many hot days there as possible and had a great time.
http://www.fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/Hillingdon_Sport_and_Leisure_Complex /facility/Outdoor_pool
We moved north, at the end of that summer and into my Dad's house with him. No public open air pools locally, a couple of private gyms have small open air pools, but they're expensive and a fair drive away. I wasn't happy about leaving the newly opened Lido behind, especially after ten years of living there and no Lido!
It's a small terraced house, but has quite a long garden for houses in the area but narrow about 14ft. The garden has a kitchen extension, small lawned area and then a garage and drive.
Garden & garage.
- - - Updated - - -
Not a pool, but a Dora attempt at water fun in the garden.
It was fun & definitely got you wet & cool
Our first pool in the garden.
- - - Updated - - -
The following summer, we had some money and decided to have the garage taken down and make more space for our daughter to play in. We got a shed, a play house, a trampoline, a children's picnic table which you could take the top off and there was a sand pit. Turned out to a paltry inch of sand to play with, so we got a sandpit shell, with a matching lid, you could fill with water too.
Before.
During
After
With new shed
With new outdoor toys
I guess, this is our 2nd pool.
- - - Updated - - -
We used the space left on the garage foundations to set up different activities. Like the flyboat filled with balls.
The last summer in London, we'd been to a first birthday party of one of my daughter's 'friends'. The garden the party was in, had an Easy Set pool on the patio . . . . I was still craving the Lido we'd left behind in London . . . the flyboat on mats had given me an idea.
The following year I was on the hunt for pool number three, watching 8ft Intex Easy Set pools on eBay. There was a used but good condition pool with an over the top filter with a Buy It Now price of £35. We bought it in the spring and it sat under our dining table until the first week of June. People scoffed and joked we wouldn't have the weather to use it. I didn't care. If it was hot enough for one days splashing I would be more than happy.
We had to rejig the garden toys a bit. The playhouse moved closer to the house, as did the cosy coupe and the rubbish sand table moved to in front of the shed. That made plenty of space for the 8ft pool and the old garage foundations being perfectly flat made the perfect base.
- - - Updated - - -
We got some EVA camping mats from Aldi. Holey ones for around the outside, so it wouldn't be slippy and whole ones for the middle of the pool. This worked well, really comfy underfoot, or under knees - I spend a lot of time chasing littler legs in the pool, on my knees :-D
Little legs loved it as much as I did.
My absolute favourite thing to do. Floating on the pool, reading a book. You can see how the filter attached to the pool in this photo too.
- - - Updated - - -
It's the perfect spot for a bite of breakfast.
But look at all that space . . . . . I was already planning my next pool.
The weather was the best we'd had in years. Bona fide 'heat wave'. We spent sooeeee much time in the pool. We had so much fun. It was the best purchase EVER. As for the scoffers, given that shops and online stores had sold out, they were a pleasant shade of green.
My husband had been dubious, but supportive, of the my whole pool obsession. He couldn't complain though, we were getting so much use out of the pool, little legs adored it. We had a birthday party for her at a soft play place, when we got home, we just took the cover off & in she popped. So simple & easy, yet masses of free fun.
- - - Updated - - -
The end of the summer came
But little legs wasn't giving the pool up without some serious last playing in it.
- - - Updated - - -
I spent the winter trawling online stores, eBay and Amazon trying to find the best price on a 10ft Easy Set. I had the perfect pack chosen with filter pump, solar cover, debris cover, ladder and heater. We were going on holiday for a week in May and planned to order it as soon as we got back. Husband had laid concrete in the gap between the garage foundations and the edging stones that separated the grass from the path, so that there was a couple more inches of hard standing.
Everyday on holiday I checked the pack online. Then one day, there ladders were no longer available!
As soon as we got home, I rang them up, they had sold out of ladders, but had a larger set available for more money. I was having them. New pool ordered or pool number 4. Happy happy happy.
It arrived and a few days later we were putting it up. First week of June, a few days earlier than last year.
Aldi didn't have anymore camping mats in, so I bought some in a slightly different size and cut them to fit down the edge.
Starting out.
Mats, how they'd been under the 8ft pool.
New mats cut to fit.
