The best wild saunas to visit near London

Isle of Wight

Slomo Sauna is the latest wellness concept from Rob and Josie da Bank, the husband-and-wife founders of family-friendly Camp Bestival. Such is their passion for yoga, meditation, sauna and open-water swimming that the pair are on a mission to turn the Isle of Wight, where they live, into ‘sauna island’. Slomo saunas pop up all over the island at different times and, on the mainland, a Slomo wild spa lives mainly at Elkins Boatyard in Christchurch but travels around. Wood-fired saunas, ice baths and cold plunges, parasol-shaded seating and beach hut-style changing rooms offer contrast therapy on the move. 

Brighton

What started as a horsebox sauna temporarily wheeled into action for the Brighton Fringe Festival became so popular that it never left. One horsebox was joined by another, and another: now three wood-fired saunas huddle around a fire pit and stone seating circle, offering sun-soaked views of the pier and easy access to the sea. When it comes to wild saunas, Beach Box is the trailblazer; and there’s not much that its founder Liz Watson doesn’t know about what makes a good sweat. She is a driving force on the UK scene, training staff in proper know-how, and bringing experiences from other sauna cultures into the mix; think aufguss, leaf whisking, salt scrubs, sound baths and more.

Hastings

The first sauna to get a permanent home on a seaside pier in the UK, Samphire is a haven of calm, especially during early morning sessions when the rest of the pier is still closed and cold-water swimmers head up to one of its two four-person saunas to warm up after their dip. Founders Nell and Zoya are part of Hastings’ lively creative scene; so too is the pier, which won the Stirling Prize for Architecture when it was rebuilt in 2017. Summer evenings find the area alive with skaters, concerts and a string of outdoor events. The saunas, screened off with deck chairs and a sun terrace, feel private and cocooned with soothing views of the sea. 

London

It’s hard to underestimate the impact of not-for-profit Community Sauna Baths on the UK sauna scene. Opening in the backyard of a former public baths in Hackney Wick more than three years ago, it now has sister sites in Bermondsey, Stratford, Peckham, Camberwell and Walthamstow. More than just a place to sweat, CSB is a welcoming space where people relax, connect and share experiences. A true community hub, it fosters a sense of belonging and wellbeing through the simple act of gathering in the heat. Myth-telling saunas, sound bath saunas and more are held here and CSB works with the NHS and charities to offer free sauna sessions.

Northamptonshire

Inspired by the unsupervised Kuuma saunas on the canals of Amsterdam, brothers George and Josh Taylor decided to create a similar version on family land near Milton Keynes. They commissioned a carpenter friend to build them a sauna for six to ten people and set it up with two buckets, a cold plunge, and a cold shower next to a lake, where dipping will shortly be an option. Upon booking, bathers receive a text message with the sauna door code, and they are left to their own devices. Throwing water on the rocks and cleaning up when they’re done are both encouraged. Does this autonomous approach work with Brits? ‘We try to avoid too many guidelines, and most people like it,’ said George, who is planning to develop Suku into a wellness site with wild swimming and padel courts. There’s a security guard on site who checks bookings and helps in an emergency, and cleaners go in once a day.

London

Are you someone who likes to time your hot and cold immersions – or are you a go-with-the-flow bather who exits when your body says enough? Victoria Maddox, the founder of Sweheat in London’s Royal Victoria Dock, is firmly the latter camp. A sauna aficionado who has been on the wild sauna circuit for more than a decade, she discourages timers in Sweheat’s two saunas, but welcomes nudity and löyly (steam generated by pouring water over hot stones). The Wakeup Docklands wakeboarding park is next door, and there are showers and a large cold plunge, but many prefer to dip in the dock, which is regularly tested for cleanliness. 

Brighton

Everybody has their sauna epiphany and for Laura Brown and Mike Lord it happened in a large sea-view sauna in Cork. Having previously run a rural spa in the Sussex countryside, the couple were used to making things from scratch. And so they built Luna Hut, which has a large picture window, space for sixteen bathers and a covered porch. Every winter they park up next to Sea Lanes, a cool complex of bars, offices, open-air lido and yoga studio, the latter of which the couple also run. The combination of yoga and sauna seals the connection between mental and physical health and the provision of matting makes the sauna wheelchair accessible. Other Luna locations include Eastbourne and Worthing, and plans are in the pipeline for an expanded Luna complex in Brighton.

Kent

Sea Scrub was founded by Robin Bartlett and his cousin Luke, who lives in Oslo. ‘Luke recognised that our climates and cultures aren't that different, and in the UK, for nine months of the year, it’s not nice outside,’ says Robin. So the pair bought a barrel sauna without anywhere to put it, wrangled for 14 months for a plot, and ended up on a packed-out Margate Beach in the height of summer. No one came. They survived by selling lollies and ice creams. Fast forward 18 months, and how times have changed. Now, Sea Scrub has added a swish electric sauna, two cold barrels, changing rooms and running water to the mix, and has even expanded to Whitstable.

London

For a city sauna with a view, nowhere beats London’s Rooftop Saunas. What started out as four snug hot boxes on a disused Hackney rooftop has grown into a complex of eight saunas, six cold plunges, four drench buckets, warm showers, changing rooms and fridges stocked with drinks. Netil 360 rooftop bar and pizzeria next door provides bathers with many options to refuel, and the views of cranes, gas holders, graffiti and traffic below make for an uninterrupted and intriguing urban landscape. This spring, a sister Rooftop Saunas opened with the same set up on the 11th floor of an office block in Brixton. Both spots appeal to groups of friends who block book for a catch-up and to those who like the raw rooftop buzz. 

Kent

With its distinctive doodle art graphics, Rebels Dover is a sauna, coffee shop and creative community hub on the esplanade at Dover. Founder Tim Smithen is an artist, musician and tattooist. He had been running Steampunk Sauna in Folkestone for two years when the Port of Dover and Dover Town Council asked him to take over the disused toilets on the esplanade. It’s a busy spot: a starting point for swimmers heading across the English Channel, and for rowers and athletes who train on the beach. Tim turned the block into a ten-seat sauna and a cool café that serves toasties, beer and good coffee. Events range from art shows to vintage clothing fairs; a ‘Sauna Sisterhood’ session caters specifically for menopausal women.