Can stand the heat? Try a wild sauna

By Kate Simon

Sauna, in this heat! It’s all the rage down by the beach, don’t you know? At least that’s what my friend Jo tells me. She’s currently racing around Britain researching a book she’s writing for Bloomsbury about DIY wellness breaks*, which features wild and community saunas, wild swimming and other spa-style experiences in unusual locations.

What are friends for if not to help with such an arduous task. Which is how I found myself in a small car park above the beach at Pakefield on the Suffolk coast. We were there to test out the Salty Sauna, ‘the most easterly sauna in the UK’ (being just down the road from Lowestoft).

Buy 'Beer Breaks In Britain' here

From the outside, it looks like a horse box with a chimney. Inside, it’s the real deal – wood clad with a tiered bench big enough for six and a stove in the corner pumping out the heat. I was thankful that the glass door was tinted, obscuring us from curious passers-by on the adjacent coast path. (Change first or pack one of those beach ponchos if you don’t want to wrestle with your clothes in the confines of your car.)

It being a blustery day, we couldn’t help but turn a few heads as we ran down the steps to the beach in our cozzies to embrace the North Sea. It was at this point that I remembered my low blood pressure and questioned the wisdom of diving into the briny. But, unwavering in the line of duty, Jo took the plunge. One can only hope the body shock delivered on its promise to improve circulation, boost the immune system, strengthen mental resilience, and increase endorphins.

It’s not just by the sea that you’ll find such saunas. They’re popping up in picturesque settings across the British countryside and even in cities. Bristol is vying with London and Brighton to be the UK’s sauna capital. In January, the city hosted a sauna trail, with punters paying £30 to visit 10 in a day, all proceeds going to Icebreakers, a mental-health charity that brings together men in nature. Keep your eye on the Bristol Sauna Trail website for news of the next one in 2027.

The map on The Sauna Guide website will show you where to find others – it also serves to illustrate how popular sauna is becoming. Indeed, the UK sauna market is booming faster than anywhere else in Europe. Media outlets including the BBC have even suggested saunas will supersede pubs as the place to socialise. They forget; a refreshing drink is an essential way to cool down.

Phil’s Beer Notes

Every trip to the sauna requires a rehydration break. From the Salty Sauna, either head north into Lowestoft town centre for the Triangle Tavern, which is the tap house for Green Jack Brewery, or south to the Sailors Home at Kessingland, which sits right on the beach and offers sea fishing trips as well as a good range of Suffolk-brewed cask ales.

It can surely be no coincidence that Bristol and Brighton, two of the best cities to go for a sauna, are also right up there when it comes to beer. Both have plenty of venues to choose from but here are a couple of favourites.

Left Handed Giant’s brewpub is bang in the centre of Bristol on the river and, as you’ve been shut up in a hot box, you’ll appreciate the big airy space over two floors as well as the stunning variety of beers on tap.

Brighton’s Hole in the Wall is a little harder to find, tucked behind the Metropole Hotel on the seafront, but you’ll find it’s worth the effort for the range of beers on tap and on cask, and simply for finding a friendly little pub where you can experience the Sussex game of Toad in the Hole.

*You can follow Jo’s progress on her Instagram, and her book, Swim, Spa, Sauna: 52 UK Wellness Weekends, will be sitting on Bloomsbury’s website – and the shelves of all good bookshops – in 2027.