Hot ticket: 10 of the best pop-up saunas in the UK

11.03.2024 - 14:21 / theguardian.com

Open-water swimmers will never want to leave Pool Bridge Farm, where there are three mirror-like lakes to paddle in as well as two wood-clad saunas, once old shepherd’s huts now lovingly restored, waiting on their banks. Winter weather needn’t stop the splashy fun, either: swim under the farm’s strings of festoon lights on dark early mornings and frosty winter nights. Bring your tent in warmer weather – there’s a six-acre campsite lined with ancient oak trees on site, great for gazing up at this corner of Yorkshire’s dark skies from your sleeping bag.
Sauna and swim sessions £6. Camping from £35 (poolbridge.co.uk)

Welcome to Seatown, Dorset. Local fisherman once doubled up as smugglers on this part of the coastline, but now all the action down on the shingle beach is at the Seaside Sauna Haus. Book the sauna for exclusive use, or time your visit to coincide with the full moon to join a night-time sauna party on the beach. The Anchor Inn pub across the road has three airy bedrooms with rolltop baths and views facing back out to the sea.
Sauna £10 per hour, £60 for exclusive use (seasidesaunahaus.co.uk). Stay at the Anchor Inn from £220 per night (theanchorinnseatown.co.uk)

Go on a sauna safari along the gorse-clad Gower coastline in South Wales to tick off two popular seaside steam spots. Ty Sawna was Wales’s first beach sauna, and this squat wooden barrel is the perfect place to warm up after a dip in bracing Oxwich Bay. Along the coast towards Mumbles, the twin Caswell Saunas perch on the cliffs above their namesake beach, with ice-cold water barrels perfect for practising your breathwork in. Sleep tight after your safari at one of Caswell Bay Glamping’s two bell tents – they’re on the simple side but their location couldn’t be more peaceful, just inland from the coast.
Saunas £15 per hour, £60 for exclusive use. Bell Tents at Caswell Bay Glamping £120 per night (caswellsaunas.org; tysawna.co.uk; campsites.co.uk)

Hazel Tree Cabin sits in a dappled, secret woodland next to a chalk stream. It sleeps two and has its own hot tub to soak and stargaze in. Your only neighbours here are a tiny tabernacle and a colourful yurt, and the three properties share use of a wood-fired barrel sauna and cold plunge bath tucked among the trees, the Chiltern hills around you.
Hazel Tree Cabin from £174 per night. Sauna bookable by guests for £25 for one hour (canopyandstars.co.uk)

Head north to the edge of the Cairngorm mountains to seek out the River Dye – and the clutch of colourful cottages and cabins dotted around a secluded glen. Nestled among tall, susurrating pines, the tiny River Cabin sleeps two and is stuffed with books, games and other old-fashioned delights. The outside is the best bit, though: a big green