One of the hottest wellness trends (quite literally) in the last few years has been the growing sauna scene – especially in coastal towns and on beaches around the UK. Partly, it’s linked to the increase in wild swimming and, therefore, to a demand for hot-cold contrast therapy (health benefits include boosting circulation, reducing inflammation and alleviating muscle soreness). Then there are those who, like me, typically only dip a toe in the sea during a summer heatwave, yet have still been drawn in.
When I return to my hometown of Worthing, my friend and I now often meet up for a social sauna session rather than at the pub. I remember one especially memorable Christmas Eve at Fire, Salt & Sea, a converted horsebox on the pebbles with an Estonian stove. Peering out into the darkness at the misty, deserted festoon-lit prom felt like being in an Old Master painting, before we emerged to the sound of crashing waves and cooled off with a watering can. Recently, on a rainy May weekend, we went to Luna Hut, where, after standing under the bucket shower, I geared up for a dunk in one of the ice-cold metal baths (my friend, a regular, can lie happily submerged for several minutes), relishing the feeling of warmth after leaping out.
During my sauna stints, there have been plenty of interesting conversations with friendly strangers (once I swapped Instagram handles with a girl who offered to show me around Cali if I ever made it to Colombia), but for me, there is also something magical and meditative about gazing out to sea and the horizon beyond. Here are six more UK beach saunas to try.
Samphire Sauna, Hastings, Sussex
It’s hard to miss this double sauna on Hastings Pier (the repurposed green horse box is the original; the next-door space was added in 2024 and painted with a colourful mural by local artist Molly Hawkins). There are also a pair of changing rooms adorned with equally bright artwork, a cold tub and bucket shower and deckchairs with post-sweat sea views. New for the summer are 45-minute express communal sessions on Mondays and Thursdays, as well as several quiet slots (no talking means more time for contemplation). The owners, Nell Monck and Zoya Jordan, also have their own range of body scrubs made by the Natural Skincare Deli.
