Wild Saunas To Visit In The UK In 2025

Fee Drummond embraces the benefits of hot-cold therapy as she races from sauna to wild January sea at The Saltwater Sauna in Sandbanks. Plus: we bring you the most idyllic wild saunas dotted around the country.

Review: The Saltwater Sauna, Sandbanks

Salt: inhaling it, being scrubbed with it, swimming in it, and absorbing it. There could hardly be a wilder way for me to feel myself into the glorious golden sunrise beside my beloved Solent sea. 

At the Saltwater Sauna – located on two South Coast beaches – expect to be cocooned by cedarwood and scented with clary sage steam, almond oil, cinnamon, and ginger, while watching and wallowing in the weather and sea view outside. Jane, an ex-army officer turned sauna master, leads me through an immersive hour-long experience, pouring salt laced with eucalyptus, lemongrass, and grapefruit essential oils under my nose to begin our centring ritual.

Bill Measom

We race to dip into the cold fresh ocean between the heat, guided rituals and whole-body salt scrubs, seamlessly blending between beach and sauna, an immersion in nature to up-level any dreary day. The sea offers a welcome bracing contrast as we flow between the two, each of us becoming more anchored with every dip. 

For me, wellness is about waking up and seeking the edge to feel alive, leaning into the wild to connect closer to my instincts. Feeling the cold sharp stones beneath my feet first thing, the visceral discomfort ignites my system before I relax back into my comfort zones. 

I contemplate the dawn community: dog walkers in the near darkness, sea swimmers and joggers, all basking in this beautiful quietness before the world has digitally connected to its frenzy. With a final smoke ritual with styrax resin, used in healing ceremonies for centuries, as I look over at the sun rising above the Isle of Wight – my favourite island with its Needles, our family’s secret beaches and anchorages – I relish every second of this experience and connection to self. What a doorstep to wake up to. 

BOOK IT: thesaltwatersauna.com

The UK’s Top Wild Saunas

Scotland

In two locations in Fife – on Cambo Sands in St Andrews and on a loch at Eden Springs – Wild Scottish Saunas was founded by cold swimmers who encourage alternating stints in the cedarwood sauna with a bracing dook in the Scottish waters. wildscottishsauna.com

Kent

Next to the tidal pool at Walpole Bay in Margate, this community sauna is the brainchild of Dom Bridges, founder of local fragance and skincare brand Haeckels. The firewood is sourced from sustainably managed UK forests and the ash composted at a nearby community garden. haeckels.co.uk

Cornwall

Often found at Polzeath and Harlyn Bay near Padstow, Saunas By The Sea has two wood-fired saunas that move year-round between secluded coves along the north Cornish coast – and pop up at Boardmasters surf and music festival in August. saunasbythesea.co.uk

Pembrokeshire

Founded by two British filmmakers with a vision to bring ancient Nordic sauna traditions to this unmatched part of Wales, Wild Water Sauna travels the length of Pembrokeshire by trailer, picking the best beaches and sunset spots close to the national park’s coastal paths. wildwatersauna.com