12 Top Sauna & Cold Water Experiences in Kent & Sussex
With the rise in popularity of contrast therapy – relaxing in a sauna followed by taking an ice cold plunge – we take a look at where you can try it out locally.
Great saunas in Kent and Sussex
Wild Spa Wowo is a “magical forest glade spa and retreat space” in Uckfield, Sussex. There you can relax your body, mind and spirit with wild thermal bathing, massage and movement. From October to March choose between their Wild Sauna, in an original Nordic style, and Cosy Woodland Sauna which is clay lined. Then hit the cold showers in the trees or opt for a dip in the cold plunge pool. There is also a Forest Room – a relaxing warm greenhouse with forest views.
Open to the public daily, Haeckels Sea Bathing Machine is based next to the tidal pool at Walpole Bay in Kent and was “created as a gift for the town, a place to encourage Margate residents to experience the benefits of cold water swimming and getting people into the water in winter”. Founder of Haeckels Dom Bridges says “inspired by the saunas of Reykjavik we wanted to create a concept that could be duplicated and used around the coastline of the UK, not just Thanet”. The sauna is free to use, but they ask if you can contribute towards the costs for rent, fuel and maintenance needed.
The Little Sauna Company, Sandgate, Kent (on Miltary Road next to the mobile coffee stand)
The Little Sauna Sea Swim & Cold Plunge is a mobile sauna operating in the Kent area. Available for private events and private hire they also offer sunrise yoga and sauna events and have also held a full moon yoga and sauna event.
At The Nomadic Sauna in Seaford you will find traditional wood-fired saunas by the sea, offering private and community sessions for everyone where you can supercharge your cells, boost your immune system and care for your mental health. You can book private sessions for 30 or 60 minutes and they offer a selection of community slots everyday for individual booking with other members of the community (max eight people). Sauna extras include a Seaweed Salt Scrub and a Honey and Geranium face-mask.
An all year round wood-fired public beach sauna spa, based on Brighton Beach in Sussex, Beach Box Spa has three unique saunas – two, cosy converted horsebox trailers with wood-fired stoves and a 12-seater, cedar sauna with panoramic views of the ocean. Being located right on the pebbles with direct beach access, it is perfect for a sea dip too. Enjoying incredible sea views, facilities include outdoor seating areas, picnic table, changing rooms, fresh water showers, a chilled steel tub, cool plunge pool and a slipper bath.
Beach Box Spa
Slack Sauna, a mobile sauna based in Sussex, is available for private hire and events as well as holding regular Thursday evening sessions in Barcombe, Sussex and Sunday afternoons at Phoenix House, Lewes.
With locations in Margate, Faversham and Whitstable in Kent, Sea Scrub Sauna is where “where the soothing warmth of Scandinavian sauna culture meets the timeless charm of the British seaside”. In Margate you can choose from a Nordic wood-fired barrel sauna or a modern electric cube sauna, both of which enjoy sea views. In Whitstable you will find a bespoke wood-fired sauna which also has sea views. And in Faverhsam, located on the Macknade Foodhall site, is a Nordic Wood-Fired Barrel Sauna offering private, tranquil countryside views. They are also set to open a new spa complex in Folkestone as Sea Scrub Sauna and Folkestone Harbour have joined forces to bring a wellness space to the seafront. Work is set to begin on the development towards the end of the year.
Sea Scrub Sauna, Whitstable
Widewater Lagoon, in Lancing, is a woodland beach sauna set in the heart of a nature reserve “where tranquility meets the wild beauty of the sea”. At this Sussex location, you can enjoy wild sea swimming and traditional spa treatments. They offer both community sessions (six people) and private hire (up to 7 people).
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The Little Sauna Company, Sandgate, Kent (on Miltary Road next to the mobile coffee stand)
Fire, Salt & Sea’s traditional wood-fired pop-up sauna on the pebbles of Worthing beach is a Finnish-style sauna converted from a vintage horsebox and features a genuine 200kg wood-fired stove. Here you can take time out and enjoy the views out to sea through the full width window. Their spacious sauna can accommodate up to six people, which you can book privately or join their community sauna sessions and meet like-minded sauna enthusiasts. The whole sauna can be booked for 30, 60, 90 or 120-minute sessions for up to six people. They also offer 60-minute community sauna sessions at £15 per person.
Located on Hastings Pier, in East Sussex, overlooking the coast, Samphire Sauna is “a sustainable, Nordic-inspired sauna, which allows you to relax, reconnect with nature and benefit from the healing properties of heat and cold-water therapy – boosting circulation and the immune system in the process!” The sauna accommodates four to five people at a time and is open for both communal and private sessions. A one-hour private sauna costs £60 and a half-hour private sauna is £35. A one-hour communal sauna is £15pp (you may be sharing the sauna with up to three other people).
Beach Box Spa, Brighton
Rebels in Dover provides “fresh batch coffee and refreshments, a hub for locals and visitors alike to come together, connect, and enjoy the vibrant energy of this charming seaside town”. Here you can simply turn up to relax with a coffee, ice cream or beer, or take a calming opportunity to enjoy some time in the sauna. Premium members have unlimited sessions for £40 a month, while 60-minute walk-in sessions are available all day without membership for £10 subject to availability.
At Steam Punk Sauna you can relax and experience the luxury wood-fired sauna at their site on Mermaid Beach in Folkestone where you can enjoy a 60-minute private session for up to five people for £50 or a single individual booking for £12 for 60 minutes in a communal sauna. At Betteshanger Park in Deal, a 60-minute individual communal session is £15, whie a 60-minute private sauna session, which accommodates up to eight people, costs £80. At Betteshanger Park they also offer a sound bath sauna with contrast therapy class for £30.
Steam Punk Sauna
Heading a little further afield
This year, on World Sauna Day (26th April), Skuna Boats launched a first-of-its-kind Sauna Boat experience in Canary Wharf, London. Sailing in from Sweden, the Sauna Boat is the latest brainchild of Skuna Boats – a brand renowned for delivering London’s most unique marine experiences. They vessel offers a Scandinavian-inspired 15-person, wood-fired Sauna and cold plunge pool. The Sauna Boat experience is designed to rejuvenate both body and mind where guests will enjoy the warmth of the 70-90°C wood-fired sauna and the invigorating chill of a 6°C rooftop cold plunge pool, all while soaking in Canary Wharf’s iconic views and authentic Scandinavian-inspired social atmosphere.
What are the benefits of using a sauna combined with cold water plunges?
Relaxing in a sauna followed by taking an ice cold plunge (and often repeating this process) is commonly known as contrast therapy. It is the change in temperature in doing this that causes the blood vessels to constrict and dilate which increases circulation. This aids with not only with the body’s healing process but it also can release endorphins which will consequently enhance your mood.
It can also help with inflammation by causing an anti-immflamatory response, aid with muscle soreness, stimulate the immune system, potentially helping to boost your immunity to infections, and help your body to detox through the sweating process which flushes out toxins.
But there are also mental health benefits too. Not only does it release endorphins, but can improve your focus as the change in temperature refreshes your body, as well as getting you used to facing the stressors found in daily life.
All of these benefits can also aid with getting a better night’s sleep – therefore further enhancing the advantages of taking part.
This Finnish tradition of saunas mixed with cold water is seeing a rise across the globe, and was recently enjoyed as part of Stephen from Index Digital’s tour of the country (to read more click here).
If you have a pre-existing health condition you should contact your local health professional before trying contrast therapy.
Images Index Digital
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