Plunge pools
Compact, cold-plunge or heated — fit for gardens as narrow as 3–4m, tucked into a corner without overwhelming the space.
Garden pools across London
We design and build outdoor swimming pools for gardens across London.
Built to fit. Designed to belong.
Plunge pools, spools and full-size pools, designed and built around your garden — not a standard mould squeezed into it. Every project starts with a survey of your space, so the finished pool feels like it always belonged there.
Get a free feasibility visit See how it works
Our approach
The garden comes first. The pool is designed around it.
Most pool companies start with a shape and try to make it fit. We start by surveying what's already there — trees, boundaries, light, sightlines from the house — and design a pool that sits comfortably within it, whatever size that garden happens to be.
01
Shaped by your garden
No off-the-shelf footprint. We survey your plot first — existing trees, boundaries, light and sightlines — and design the pool to work with what's there, not against it.
02
Built by renovators
Structural work, drainage, groundworks and finishing are all handled by us — the same standard we apply to home extensions, not subcontracted piecemeal.
03
One point of contact
Our team can manage your build from the first garden visit through to tiling and finishing, or work hand in hand with your preferred designers and landscapers — whichever fits your project best.
How it works
From garden visit to first swim
A process built around understanding your space before we design anything.
1. Garden visit
We walk the space with you — size, access, existing planting, how you actually use the garden today.
2. Design that fits
A pool shape and size proposed specifically for your plot, integrated with existing landscaping wherever possible.
3. Build
Groundworks, structure, filtration, heating and finishing — managed start to finish by our team.
4. Handover
A pool that looks like it was always part of the garden, not added to it. We finish with a full hands-on demonstration of the plant, heating, dosing and covers, plus a simple written routine — and we stay on hand afterwards for servicing, winterising and ongoing maintenance.
Services
Every garden is different. Your pool should be too.
From narrow side gardens to large townhouse plots, we size and shape each build around the space you actually have.
Spools
A hybrid spa/pool sized for year-round use in a small footprint — for gardens where a full pool would dominate.
Full-size pools
For larger townhouse and villa gardens, proportioned to sit comfortably within the existing layout.
Swim jets & all-season use
Integrated swimming jets turn a compact pool into a proper swim — and paired with modern heating and covers they stretch the season well beyond summer, into winter for the brave. It's this kind of technology that brings real pool use, and real fun, to smaller urban gardens.
Landscaping integration
Decking, planting and garden layout designed around the pool from the outset — not bolted on once the pool is finished.
Feasibility & design
Not sure what your garden can take? A feasibility visit tells you what's possible before you commit to anything.
Why Dulwich Pool Co
Renovation experience, now built into every pool
Dulwich Pool Co grew out of HPH London, a renovation and extension company with 25 years of experience building across London.
The pools we've built taught us the same lesson: pool building in London is dominated by specialist firms who don't always think like builders. They can install a shell beautifully but sometimes struggle with the groundworks, structural work and tight access that come with a genuine London garden.
That's our edge. We approach a pool build the way we approach an extension — structurally sound, project-managed properly, and designed to work with the space rather than dominate it. The technical side — filtration, chemical balance, heating — is handled to the same established pool industry standards, so you get renovation-grade project management without compromising on the specialist detail.
Difficult access is where that experience really pays. Twenty-five years of renovations and extensions on London terraces means we've spent our working lives moving materials, muck and machinery through side returns, basements and narrow rear gardens with no vehicle access. We know how to sequence a dig, where the conveyor or mini-digger goes, when to crane over and when to hand-barrow — so we can tell you early and honestly whether a pool is logistically and physically installable in your garden, and exactly how we'd get it in.
Small gardens don't have to mean small ambitions. Integrated swimming jets let you swim properly against a current in a pool a fraction of the length, and combined with efficient heating and insulated covers they extend the usable season by months — right through winter for anyone brave enough. Technology like this is what brings genuine pool use, exercise and fun to smaller urban gardens that would once have been written off.
Backed by accredited members of SPATA — the UK's governing body for pool construction — so you can be assured your project is guided by the highest standards of craftsmanship, safety and specification.
SPATA-accredited backing
25 years of London building
Tight-access specialists
Part of HPH London
FAQ
Common questions about building a pool in a London garden
Straight answers to what people ask us at the first garden visit. If yours isn't here, ask us directly.
Do I need a big garden for a pool?
No. Plunge pools and spools can fit in gardens as narrow as 3–4 metres, and integrated swim jets mean a compact pool can still give you a proper swim. We design around your specific space at the feasibility visit rather than starting from a standard size.
How much does a garden swimming pool cost in London?
It depends far more on your garden than on the pool itself. A compact plunge pool or spool sits at the more modest end, a mid-size garden pool in the middle, and a full-size pool with heating, an automatic cover and surrounding landscaping at the top end. Groundworks, access, ground conditions and the finish you choose move the number more than the size of the pool does, so rather than quote a price per metre we look at the space first and give you a fixed written quote — and an honest sense of the likely range — after the garden visit.
How long does it take to build a garden swimming pool?
Anywhere from around 4 weeks through to 12 weeks on site, depending on access, the size of the pool and the extent of the landscaping around it. Allow some time beforehand for design, structural detailing and ordering long-lead items, and longer again if planning permission is needed. Weather and ground conditions also affect the programme, and we give you a week-by-week schedule before we start.
What does a swimming pool cost to run each year?
Budget roughly £800–£2,500 a year for a domestic outdoor pool in London, covering electricity for the pump and heating, chemicals, and water top-ups. An air-source heat pump, a well-fitted insulated or automatic cover, variable-speed pump and a sensible heating schedule are what actually control that figure — a good cover alone can cut heat loss dramatically. We size the plant for efficiency at design stage and tell you the likely running cost before you commit.
How much maintenance does a pool need?
In practice, as little as 10 minutes and up to 20 minutes a week in season: check and correct the water balance, empty the skimmer and pump baskets, brush and vacuum or run the robot cleaner, and backwash the filter periodically. Then a winterising visit in autumn and an opening service in spring. We hand over with a full demonstration and a written routine, and we can take the whole thing on as an ongoing maintenance contract if you'd rather not think about it.
My garden has no vehicle access — can you still build a pool?
Usually, yes. Tight access is the norm on London terraces and it's exactly where our renovation and extension background helps: we plan the dig, spoil removal and material handling around whatever route exists, whether that's a side return, a through-house route with full protection, conveyors and mini-diggers, or craning over the roofline. We assess access at the feasibility visit and tell you honestly what's achievable and what it adds to the cost.
Do I need planning permission for a swimming pool?
Often not for a standard in-ground pool, but it depends on conservation area status, listed building status and boundary proximity — common considerations across London's conservation areas and on period and listed properties. We check this at the feasibility visit and handle any application if one is needed.
Can I use the pool outside summer?
Yes. Efficient heating, an insulated or automatic cover and integrated swim jets together extend the usable season by months, right through winter for the brave. Cold-plunge use is popular year-round too, and the same technology is what makes a small urban pool genuinely worth having rather than a two-month novelty.
Can you work with my existing garden landscaping?
Yes — we design the pool to integrate with existing planting, decking and layout rather than requiring a full garden rebuild, wherever possible. Where trees are involved we work around root protection areas rather than removing established planting.
Will hosepipe bans or water restrictions stop me filling a pool?
We're all well aware of the hosepipe restrictions that have come and gone across the UK, and the South East in particular, over recent months and years — so it's a fair question. In practice it rarely stops a project: a pool fill is normally arranged directly with your water supplier and timed outside any restriction period, and once filled a pool only needs modest top-ups, which an insulated or automatic cover cuts right down by reducing evaporation. We help you plan the fill and talk you through the current position for your postcode before work starts.
Which areas do you cover?
We work across London. That includes prime central and west London — Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden and Notting Hill — along with Wandsworth, Richmond, Merton, Lambeth, Southwark and the Dulwich area. If you are anywhere in Greater London, get in touch and tell us where you are.
Contact
Start with a free feasibility visit
Tell us about your garden and we'll arrange a visit to assess what's possible — no obligation, no hard sell.
Prefer to talk it through first? Message us on WhatsApp with a photo of the garden and we can usually tell you straight away whether it's worth a visit.
Serving gardens across London, from prime central and west London out to the surrounding boroughs. Enquiries answered within one working day.
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 8am–6pm. Saturday, 9am–1pm. Closed Sunday.