Saunas used to be the sort of thing most of us only get to experience at birthday spa days or fancy hotel stays, but in the past few years they’ve become a lot more accessible. Community Sauna Baths (CSB), a London-based network, has been at the forefront of bringing the Finnish style of sauna – no-fuss, affordable, and communal – to the UK, and it is now supporting franchises across the UK.
The first place to use support from CSB’s network was Bristol, which opened its community sauna in summer 2024, and now another city is getting involved.
Glasgow Community Sauna opened last Friday November 7. The non-profit, queer-led initiative has set up in a 'natural and cosy setting’, is making its home on McCulloch Street in Pollockshields. That’s a ten minute walk from Pollockshaws East train station, or a 20 minute walk from West Street on the Underground.
It’s pretty cheap to access. Seventy-five minutes of access to both the sauna – which has been constructed inside of an old horse box – and its adjacent cold plunges is £10, or £7 for students, seniors, Blue Lights Card holders, and those who are out of work. Alternatively, you’ll be able to book a private session for up to seven people for £60 – working out at £8.50 each. You can book your slot here.
The team told Time Out that everyone is welcome and that efforts will be made to create an inclusive space, saying: ‘Our space is about accessibility, affordability, care and connection, with dedicated queer and trans-only sessions to ensure those who might feel excluded in mainstream sauna culture have a place to unwind and belong.’
Glasgow Community Sauna hopes to be ‘more than just a sauna’, and accessibility is at the heart of the project. It will have step-free access and ‘low level sensory sessions’.
Community Sauna initiatives have been a huge success in London. Since launching in Hackney Wick, CSB now has six total locations across the city. They tend to pop up in hyper-trendy destinations like Stratford, Bermondsey, Walthamstow, Camberwell and Peckham – the latter three of which have all been named amongst Time Out’s coolest neighbourhoods in the world over various years, with Camberwell being this year’s pick.
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