London has been home to an emerging community sauna movement for a few years. Particularly in the colder months, people in the capital are looking to stay healthy in more unorthodox ways, such as taking a steamy plunge.
The growth in the sauna movement has been thanks, in part, to the arrival of the Community Sauna Baths. It opened on a derelict site at the back of a 1930s public bathhouse in Hackney at the beginning of 2022.
Community Sauna Baths says it is committed to making the health benefits of saunas more accessible, by bringing affordable and authentic sauna experiences to neighbourhoods across the UK.
A culture prominent in Scandinavia, the Baltics, and central and eastern Europe, but perhaps most closely associated with Finland, studies have found that regular sauna use may protect against dementia.
It raises the heart rate in a similar way to gentle exercise; helps heal stiff joints and muscles; promotes better sleep; and gives you that post-sauna glow. It can also help with less severe symptoms for sufferers of conditions such as fibromyalgia and arthritis.
Hackney Wick Sauna Baths
Price: off-peak entry £8.50, peak entry £15
Hackney Wick Sauna Baths has been a roaring success since it opened two years ago. The baths have attracted more than 50,000 visitors since launch day, most of whom were complete amateurs.
Located in the Eastway Baths in Hackney Wick, an old Public Baths building dating from the 1930s, there are 10 saunas of varying sizes. These range from converted horse boxes to traditional Finnish styles. All are divided into "clothing optional” or “clothing required”.
There's the option to plunge yourself into a freezing barrel of water afterwards — if that's your thing.
Stratford Community Sauna Baths
Price: off-peak entry £8.50, peak entry £15
After a huge rise in bookings at the Hackney Wick community sauna, the Community Sauna Baths group has just opened another site. Located in Stratford, it’s smaller than the original venue with three saunas.
The baths hold numerous events, including sessions for pregnant people and families; monthly trans nights; grief sauna; sound baths; and massage treatments. The sessions are also free for NHS workers and you can even get treatments prescribed through NHS trusts in Hackney and Newham.
Finnish Church, Rotherhithe
Price: public sauna £10, private sauna £25
The Finns love nothing more than a good sauna, so it’s no surprise that the Finnish Church in Rotherhithe — a community centre for London-based Finns — has one lurking in the basement.
Both communal and with the option to book a private session, it’s perfect for an authentic steamy experience. Be warned, though, it’s a small space for only eight people, so be prepared to share.
The New Docklands Russian Banya & Steam Baths
Price: from £14
If basic, old-school vibes are your thing, get yourself down to Canning Town. Established in 1977, the New Docklands Russian Banya & Steam Baths is one of the East End’s longest-surviving public baths. It has been an oasis for London’s boxing communities, as well as cabbies and dockworkers.
The site has four steam rooms ranging in temperature from 30C to 110C, an ice-cold plunge pool and a sauna. There’s also the opportunity to be schmeissed (whipped, in Yiddish), which involves being rubbed down with a heated raffia brush, or a Russian venik treatment, (being struck by a bundle of oak twigs or silver birch).
