RiverRock Water Gardens
A pond edged with boulders and cobbles, with a hosta and soft grasses along its bank

Pond Design · Cambridgeshire

Pond Design In Cambridgeshire

Every pond we build is designed for its own garden: its size, its levels, the light it gets and the way you want to use it.

Arrange A VisitCall 07568 488223

Design First

Every Pond Begins With A Plan.

A good pond starts long before anything is dug. The shape, the depth and the position decide how the water will look in a few years, how much looking after it will need, and whether it sits in the garden as though it has always been there. It is the part of the job we enjoy most, and the part we never rush.

We are a family run business based at Willingham, and every design is drawn up for the garden in front of us. There are no standard kits and no off the shelf shapes. Whether you would like a small wildlife pond by the back door, a koi pond with proper filtration or a pond with a waterfall running into it, the design is made for your space and your plans for it.

Try It Yourself

Where Should The Pond Go?

Move the pond around this garden plan. The four checks underneath change as it moves, and they are the same things we look at on a site visit.

  • Good
  • Fair
  • Poor

Our Verdict

Think Again

  • LightPoor

    Heavy shade. Cooler water and fewer flowering plants.

  • LeavesPoor

    Under the canopy. Leaves and roots, best avoided.

  • GroundFair

    Level lawn. Straightforward to set out and level.

  • ViewFair

    Out of sight of the house. Quieter for wildlife, less for you.

An illustration. On a visit we look at your own garden: its levels, its trees, the light it gets and how the ground drains.

A garden pond with stone edges, water plants and flowering borders

Designed Around The Garden You Have

The best place for a pond is rarely the first spot people think of. We look at where the sun falls through the day, where the ground is naturally lowest, where trees will drop their leaves into the water and how the pond will be seen from the house and the patio. A pond in the right place needs far less help to stay healthy.

We also think about how you will live with it. Some people want to sit beside the water, some want to watch it from the kitchen window, and some want a garden full of frogs, newts and dragonflies. Each of those leads to a different shape, a different depth and a different kind of edge.

Depth, Shelving And Planting Planned Together

Clear water is not an accident. It comes from the right volume of water, the right depths and enough planting to use up the nutrients that would otherwise feed algae. That is why we plan the shelves, the deeper areas and the planting at the same time as the shape, rather than adding plants at the end.

Marginal plants sit on shallow shelves around the edge with their roots in the water. Oxygenating plants and water lilies go in the deeper parts. Together they filter the water, shade it and give wildlife somewhere to live. Our aim is always a pond that stays clear without chemicals and without a weekly routine for you.

Koi swimming in clear water over cobbles

Choosing The Right Kind Of Pond

Part of the design work is helping you decide what kind of pond suits you. A wildlife pond has gentle, shallow edges and no fish, because fish eat frogspawn and the larvae of many insects. A koi pond needs far more depth, volume and filtration. An ornamental pond sits between the two, often with goldfish, water lilies and a waterfall or stream.

If you love the sound of moving water but would rather not have open water in the garden, a pondless waterfall may suit you better, and for courtyards and small terraces a self contained water feature gives you the same sense of calm in a much smaller space. We will talk you through the options honestly and help you choose.

Pond Design

What We Offer.

  1. 01

    A Free Site Visit

    We come and look at the garden with you, talk through what you have in mind and note the levels, the access, the trees and the light.

  2. 02

    Shape And Position

    We mark the outline on the ground so you can see the size of the pond and the view of it from the house before anything is dug.

  3. 03

    Depths And Shelves

    Shallow shelves for marginal plants and deeper water where it is needed, planned so the planting can keep the water clear.

  4. 04

    Stone And Edging

    How the edges are finished, and how the pond meets the lawn, the patio or the borders around it.

  5. 05

    Pumps, Filters And Lighting

    Only the equipment the pond needs, sized properly, with LED lighting if you would like the water lit after dark.

  6. 06

    A Written Quotation

    Everything we have agreed, set out in writing, so you know exactly what is included before any work starts.

A newly built garden pond edged with stone, with planting going in around it

From Design To Finished Pond

Once you are happy with the design we give you a written quotation and agree the dates. The same team that designed the pond then builds it, so nothing is lost between the drawing and the digging, and you deal with the same people from the first visit to the day the water goes in.

We design ponds across Cambridge, Huntingdon, St Neots, Newmarket and Saffron Walden and the villages around them, for homes and for businesses. You can read more about how we build on our pond construction page, or see some of our recent ponds on our work page.

Common Questions

Questions About Pond Design.

Anything else, call us on 07568 488223 or see more questions answered.

The design visit and the written quotation are free. The cost of the pond itself depends on its size and depth, the stone and planting you choose, and whether it includes a waterfall, filtration or lighting, so we price each pond individually once we have seen the garden.

Most garden ponds do not need planning permission, because they usually fall under permitted development. If your home is a listed building, or the pond is very large or part of wider works, it is worth checking with your local council first, and we will flag anything we notice at the design stage.

Usually somewhere that gets sun for part of the day, away from overhanging trees, on ground that is naturally level or low, and where you will see it from the house. We look at all of this on the site visit.

Yes. We can design shallow margins and gentle edges, talk through covers or fencing where they are needed, or suggest a pondless waterfall, which gives you moving water with no open pool.

Yes. As well as private gardens, we design and build ponds and water features for commercial sites.

Where Next

A large wildlife pond being built, with the excavators still on site

Next

Pond Construction

Excavation, liner, stonework and planting, built by one team from the first dig to the first fill.

Read More

Get In Touch

Tell Us About Your Garden.

Send a few lines and a photograph if you have one. We will come and look, talk it through on site and send a written quotation afterwards.

Arrange A Visit 07568 488223info@riverrockwatergardens.co.uk

Where We Work

Pond Design Across Cambridgeshire.

Based at Willingham, we work across Cambridgeshire and into Bedfordshire, Suffolk and Essex.

All Areas We Cover

Cambridge

Terrace gardens in the city, larger plots in the villages around it.

Huntingdon

Huntingdon, Godmanchester, St Ives and the Huntingdonshire villages.

St Neots

Eaton Socon, Eynesbury, Love's Farm and the villages along the Ouse.

Newmarket

Newmarket, Burwell and the villages on both sides of the county border.

Saffron Walden

Period homes, established gardens and the Uttlesford villages.