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To see our holiday and long term lets.
'Sticking a pool on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere is no small accomplishment! '
Wet feet trot across my floor, puddles form to
nourish my Provencal tiles and the sound of laughter
abounds around me.
What heaven to have so many people running and
dancing around and all over me.
I feel that the new addition of the pool
is so well received, my master has certainly done
well. I have lots of people coming to see and admire
me and I feel so proud to show off all that my
provencial stones can offer.
I now provide a warm comfortable solid
place to inhabit for a while and the grounds around
me are well trimmed and spruced. New plantations pop
up every year.
In the afternoon sun my stone walls glow
and radiate a calming tinge of yellow almost like a
quite beacon, announcing that I am content well
looked after and proud of my new born state. Oh what
a change from those dark damp days of isolation and
forgotten-ness that were but the norm just a few
short number of years ago.
The pool has made a great difference to
the whole ambiance of the place, opening in April
after the cherry trees have blossomed and then
closed again around the time the first leaves tinge
with yellow, sometime in October.
As I remise I realise that it is now ten
years since the pool was first inaugurated and it
has in fact been re-worked over the last
couple of years and a new liner has been quoted for.
How time flies.
Without the finding of the the water
table many metres below my feet, it could never have
existed. A good constant source of pure natural
water to bath and cool my guests.
Many have no knowledge as to the
extraordinary efforts that one has to go through to
get to this wonderful state. First the new
electrical power lines that pumps constant new life
into my veins, most importantly it powers the pump
many metres below in the well hole. Then there are
the intricate web of pipes underground that disperse
the water to the various holding tanks. Three in all
that are constantly being toped up just so that when
someone turns on a tap my pure water flows from it.
Once the power lines were installed it
took only a little over a year for the rest to be
put in place including the construction of the pool.
This has certainly brought the place to life.
The Pool Construction
One of the most important
points in the construction of the pool was to make
it last and withstand the forces and pressures of
both water within it and also from the outside as
the earth around it is made up of a clay which,
compacts and expands according to the seasons and
the amount of water that the clay can hold.
Therefore the cock of
the pool was very heavily reinforced with an
intricate network of reinforcement bars. Effectively
it is constructed as a floating concrete boat. Heavy
equipment was brought up to La Colle to dig the hole
and also at the right moment lorries of premixed
concrete trucked up to the site to deliver their
load. Yes they came down the track from La Blache
and returned that way.
Once the cock had been
built and then skimmed to a smooth surface the pump
house could be built, this is where all the filter
systems are contained and where everything happens
to keep the water in good condition. Culligen a
large American specialist water purifying company
was asked to install the system for the maintenance
of the water so that it could be kept at the highest
level of quality possible and there are two pumps
installed to ensure that if one falters there is a
backup system.
In addition a reserve
water tank is in the ground especially to serve the
shower and top up the pool when necessary. We can
loose up to 3 cubic metres of water a week in the
main season just on water evaporation.
With all the underground
systems in place and the main constructions
completed we can start backfilling the structure and
start working on the beach, including the placing of
the foot wash and shower area. Naturally safety is a
large concern therefore the pool is completely
enclosed. This is the moment that the whole project
starts to come together and the pool actually starts
to look inviting.
Soon we can start testing
the water system and even start filling up, a
process that takes over a week!
With the kids getting all
anxious about having their first dip, all the effort
now goes into the completion of the decoration.
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