|
Chagford Swimming Pool was opened in 1934, dug by hand by local residents on land entrusted to the village by the Hayter-Hames family. It is the largest open-air, fresh-water swimming pool in the south west. Should it ever cease to be maintained and used as a public pool, the land would revert to the family. The pool is fed by the mill leat, a small stream diverted from the main river, originally to power the water wheel at Rushford Farm. The site of the pool was once the mill pond for the farm. In the early years, the water was unfiltered and several times each year the pool had to be emptied into the river, sluiced clean by the fire brigade on practice nights, and refilled again.
Much has changed since the 1930s; there was a major refurbishment in the 1970s and again in 2000. These days the water is filtered, a minimal amount of chlorine is added to comply with health and safety regulations, and there are solar covers rolled out each evening to maintain the temperature. Assuming the weather is reasonable, the pool also heats each morning through the covers, often by a degree or two in a day, raising the temperature from the chilly 16C of the river to 25C if the weather is consistently good. This is one of the reasons the pool is closed in the mornings. These days there is also a very popular toddler pool, complete with toy boats and watering cans. There is a grassy area for sunbathing at one end, chairs and tables at the other and wooden decking along each side. With refreshments available from the tea shed, it is really the perfect place to spend a summer afternoon. |