Hi, Ian, and thanks for your kind comments. A lot of work involved, but worth it in the end.
Paul
My bird photos HERE
What a great thread! Thank you. These guys seems pretty reliable suppliers of native pond plants for wildlife, if anyone is interested: britishpondplants.co.uk
http://www.habitataid.co.uk
Paul A said:Hi folks. My newest project is building a Wildlife Pond in the garden so I thought it might be fun to document the progress as I go about this. I realise that this should maybe have been started a bit earlier in the year but better late than never I suppose. We’ve been thinking about a pond for a while now but the only place we can really put it is quite close to some trees down the left hand side of our garden. I think this may raise some concerns with the root system puncturing the pond liner but I’m thinking if I can line the pond with maybe a thick piece of old carpet, sand and pond liner insulation, thing should be fine. The trees that are close to where the pond is going are conifer types so aren’t actually too deep rooted. I’m also considering building a small Hibernacula next to the pond in the hope that this may encourage Frogs and Toads to take up residence here. The pond itself is not going to have any pumps or filter systems, I’ll be relying on the correct plants and creepy-crawlies to carry out the task of keeping the water clean and oxygenated. I’ve been looking at a lot of other threads on here in regards to other peoples Wildlife Ponds so I’m hoping that I may get some good advice along the way, this is all new to me so any and all suggestions and help would be very much appreciated. There are another few issues in regards to the slope of the garden but I’ll get to these as we go along. The first step was to decide on the size and shape of the pond which wasn’t as easy as it may sound. I didn’t want a rectangular pond nor did I fancy a teardrop shaped pond. After about an hour or so of messing around with a hosepipe on the ground, we decided on the shape that you can see in this first photo.
Thank you if you've read all of this and I'll update it once more progress has been made. I do know that I still have drainage/overflow issues to look at but I have a basic plan for that as well. Until the next time, I hope you've enjoyed.
Paul
Paul,
You may recall sharing this link with me some time back, believe it or not, I've finally finished reading what is actually a very interesting and well planned project, and thank you for sharing it.
Our pond is only a fraction of the size at 292 litres full, and crude dimensions 0.5mtrs deep, 0.5mtrs across and about 1.2 mts long, using a moulded liner, but just as much planning, and tweaking to the plans went in to place.
I hope you're still getting enjoyment from your pond, I know we are, and I'm eagerly awaiting the warmer days when I can sit along side it again, watching swim about their business and other wildlife that choses to inhabit our garden.
Mike
Hello everyone x
I am somewhat late to this adventure but at the start of these unprecedented times of virus and lockdown I stumbled across this thread. I am so very glad I did!
Paul, what a wonderful and informative read!
Do you write professionally? You should!
This thread inspired me to create a garden pond, albeit half the size of yours Paul, it has been one of the best therapeutic exercises we, as a family, have ever done.
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your updates and everyone’s enthusiasm on this thread so thank you all so much for the inspiration and entertainment throughout this tough time.
Our pond is finished, we have sparrows bathing in it and we hope next spring will bring an abundance of life to our garden!
Now, on to the hibernucula!
Thank you all xxx
Hi Paul, would you be able to advise me how to see the pictures in this post? I am signed in but all I can see is small icon. Perhaps it is age related 
thanks Liz
Hello Liz, it is the same for me as well. Maybe because the thread is 9 years old, pictures might be locked? Message reads, you can't view as you don't have permission? Shame because it was was a great thread to follow all the work Paul had done in making his pond
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
In addition, Paul doesn't post anymore from what I've seen over the last year or so. It's not an age thing. There are photos from over a decade ago. It's poss Paul asked for his photos to be removed from the site.
p.s. he does have flickr and I'm guessing wouldn't mind me mentioning it's linked off his profile.....or off his posts on this thread. Interestingly, many of his photos still exist in other threads of his. e.g. https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/all-creatures/194680/fabulous-fence-posts
I see that Paul A has uploaded pics to his Flickr page as recently as 5th Feb this year, wonder if he still catches up with this forum, was such fun to read his posts, hope all is well!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr