Saunas have become a huge trend in the UK in recent years – with more and more opening all the time.
In 2023, there were 45 public saunas around the country – in the Finnish style, with wooden walls, hot stones and cold plunge pools.
But, by the time journalist and sauna enthusiast Emma O’Kelly had finished writing her new book, Wild Sauna, in February 2025, there were 189 dotted around the country.
‘It just shows how quickly saunas have boomed!’ Emma says in an exclusive interview with MailOnline.
Emma travelled the length and breadth of the country, visiting repurposed horseboxes on windswept beaches and bespoke saunas nestled in ancient forests, detailing them all for her new coffee table book, out now.
She even visited naked saunas and took part in a female-only ‘textile-optional session’ in Surrey.
‘Saunas are all really different,’ she says. ‘They’re like coffee shops. You think they’re all going to be the same, but each one has its own atmosphere, and its own kind of feeling.’
Here, Emma talks MailOnline through some of the UK’s best, along with stunning photos from Wild Sauna, available to buy now…
SLOMO SAUNA, TAPNELL FARM, ISLE OF WIGHT: The latest wellness concept from Rob and Josie da Bank, the husband-and-wife founders of family-friendly festival, 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 SAUNA: Slomo saunas pop up all over the island at different times, but a floating sauna, handcrafted by Ben Revill of Rooftop Saunas in Hackney sits on a lake at holiday retreat, Tapnell Farm, along with two Nordic saunas and an ice tank
THE WILDWOOD SPA, MAWGAN PORTH, CORNWALL: Crafted by one of the UK sauna scene’s pioneering companies, Cornish spa owner and builder, Kernow Springs, the five-metre diameter space hosts up to 35 people for social gatherings, rituals and next-level steam adventures, and is run by the team behind Water & Stone
THE WILDWOOD SPA: Tucked away in a secluded glade amongst the mixed woodlands of The Park Cornwall, a few minutes’ walk from Mawgan Porth beach and a five-minute drive from Cornwall Airport Newquay, The Wildwood Spa also offers individuals and groups an outdoor pool, traditional copper, tin and brass ice baths, wood-fired hot tubs, a fire pit, drench bucket and outdoor hot showers
STEAMY WONDERS, TRENARREN, CORNWALL: This bespoke sauna was created by designer Sam Ludgate and founder and host Jez Tozer, who also took this hilarious photo after persuaded all his sauna bathers to strip off for the book. Guests can wander through the three acres of private gardens and woodlands in between rounds and enjoy the stunning sea views from the sauna veranda
POOL BRIDGE FARM, YORK, YORKSHIRE: For years, the lakes at Pool Bridge Farm were one of the best fisheries in the north of England. Today, these 137 acres of rewilded land outside York are one of the country’s best wild swimming spots. Facebook group The Pool Bridge Farm Swimmers has more than 11,000 members, and to service them, discreetly situated around one of the four lakes, are four saunas
WILD SCOTTISH SAUNA, ST ANDREWS, FIFE: In 2023, Jamie Craig Gentles and Jayne McGhie opened Wild Scottish Sauna on the stunning Kingsbarns Beach in St Andrews. This stunning two-mile stretch of coast is part of the Cambo Estate and features sand dunes, rocky outcrops and waves that are gentle (for the North Sea)
WILD SCOTTISH SAUNA, CUPAR, FIFE: A second sauna with the same Scandi- influenced design followed at Eden Springs County Park in Cupar, where cold dips are serviced by a jetty and a loch
BRAW, INVERKIP, RENFREWSHIRE: Tommy Ryan-Roche got into sauna when he started training for an ultra-marathon three years ago. He bought a barrel sauna from Latvia and christened it Braw, meaning ‘fantastic’ in Scottish slang. Tommy and Braw are now a firm weekend fixture at Lunderston Bay – the closest sandy beach to Glasgow and a popular spot for families
KILN SAUNA, CORNWALL: Kiln sauna occupies a picturesque corner of Gyllyngvase beach (Gylly to locals), one of Falmouth’s white sand, crystal-blue water jewels (left). Kiln was first launched at Kiln Quay, Flushing (right), and a second sauna has recently opened up there
KILN SAUNA, FALMOUTH: Gylly is a tranquil swimming spot at sunrise, and a gathering place by night – as such, Kiln caters to a mixed crowd of all ages
Wild Sauna: The Best Outdoor Saunas in Britain is available to buy now (£18.99, Wild Things Publishing)
