Wild Saunas and Sea Plunges

Forget pricey spas and high-end wellness retreats—this year’s most invigorating health craze is happening right on the shoreline. From the rocky beaches of Scandinavia to the urban canals of Hackney Wick, and now the rugged North Yorkshire coast, wild saunas are making a splash—with more dash than cash.

Runswick Bay, with its fishing boats, cormorant-dotted rocks, and pastel seaside cottages, may not sound like the front line of a wellness revolution. But stroll down the beach and you’ll likely witness the sight – someone bursting from the wooden door of a wood-fired sauna, built into a converted horsebox, before sprinting across the sand and plunging headfirst into the 12°C waters of the North Sea. Within minutes, others follow suit, embracing the ritual of contrast bathing—alternating between intense sauna heat and icy sea immersion. It’s an ancient tradition borrowed from Scandinavia and Japan, now reimagined for Britain’s blustery coasts.

Wild saunas – the latest invigorating health craze

Cold-water swimming has already earned cult status in the UK, with Dryrobes lining beaches every weekend. But combine it with sauna heat, and you’re in for a wellbeing double act. Advocates say the practice reduces inflammation, balances cortisol levels, and floods the brain with feel-good hormones like dopamine and serotonin. Think of it as microdosing stress—training your body to bounce back stronger each time.

A connection back to nature – and costing far less than a city spa day.

One woman I met on the beach, a former Channel swimmer, swears by the benefits: improved health, deeper happiness, a calmer mind, and a renewed connection to nature. She called it the “new health pub”—a social ritual where laughter, warmth, and community replace pints and peanuts.

Sessions cost from just £7.50 an hour—far less than a city spa day—and the atmosphere is delightfully unpretentious. When I visited, I was greeted by the soft, rhythmic beat of Chi Gong, played by Sam Harper, who helps run the Runswick sauna and is training as a personal fitness coach. His employer, Whitby Wellbeing, puts it simply – “We connect you to nature and back to yourself. A physical, mental, and spiritual journey that unleashes your inner potential.”

Wild saunas – the new health pub, a social ritual where laughter, warmth, and community replace pints and peanuts.

Between sessions, beach life carries on around the sauna box: paddle-boarders glide past, children build sandcastles, Pilates classes stretch by the waves, and lobster fishermen haul boats onto the slipway. The sauna feels less like an intrusion and more like a modern-day echo of Edwardian beach huts, drawing both locals and visitors together.

The Runswick Bay sauna is just one small part of a national surge. According to Gabrielle Reason of the British Sauna Society, the UK now boasts 213 wild saunas—double the number just last year. Author Emma O’Kelly even dedicated a guidebook to the phenomenon: Wild Sauna: The Best Outdoor Saunas in Britain, spotlighting more than 100 locations, from horseboxes to hidden forest retreats.

On the North Yorkshire coast, it’s not just about heat and cold. It’s about belonging, laughter, and the simple joy of being alive—proven every time someone emerges from the sea, dripping, breathless, and grinning from ear to ear.

The sauna feels less like an intrusion and more like a modern-day echo of Edwardian beach huts, drawing both locals and visitors together.
The sauna feels less like an intrusion and more like a modern-day echo of Edwardian beach huts, drawing both locals and visitors together.