Community Sauna London: A Movement of Heat, Cold, and Connection
5-minute read
I first discovered Community Sauna London at the Daybreakers wellness festival at Hackney Bridge. It was a sober event with a 4k run, yoga, dancing, music, and food. Tucked into the buzz of it all was a steaming sauna tent. Inside, in the thick heat, I met Charlie, one of the co-founders. After the sweat he invited me to check out their Hackney facility. I could not say no.
Inside the Hackney Bath House
Their Hackney location is housed in a historic East London bathhouse that did not even have plumbing until the late 1970s. Today, the building has been reborn as a non-profit community hub with a café, coworking area, and event space. The sauna sits at the center of it all. The facility can fit around 60 people, with seven different saunas and a community garden for cooling off.
How it All Began
Charlie told me he never set out to build a business. “When we started it really wasn’t for a business… I just wanted sauna. I wanted to be involved in a business that offered something and was not for profit.”
The early setup was raw and simple. They built one sauna and used whiskey barrels filled with ice water as makeshift cold plunges. At first, they only ran one or two days a week. Then something shifted. “Around 2023, something changed in the zeitgeist of the country,” Charlie explained. “The news started picking up.”
Soon, people who had been quietly searching for a sauna space began to find them. “People who started coming in were looking for this for ages, and now it’s finally here. People started coming back and back.”
Growth Across the City
What started with a single stove has grown in ways the team never expected. Their first official site opened in 2021, and now Community Sauna London operates outdoor saunas in Hackney, Stratford, Camberwell, Peckham, and Bermondsey, with Walthamstow set to follow soon.
The growth has been almost entirely word of mouth. “We haven’t done any paid marketing, all organic,” Charlie told me. Pop-up events like the one at Daybreaker helped spread the word, and the community has done the rest.
Why Community Matters
From the start, the mission was clear. In 2021, a group of sauna enthusiasts came together with the shared vision of creating a community sauna for London. They wanted something authentic, inclusive, and affordable. Instead of focusing on luxury, they chose to register as a Community Interest Company so everything could run not-for-profit.
Their aim is to keep sauna accessible to as many people as possible. In a society where screens dominate attention and loneliness affects millions, they are creating sober, welcoming spaces where people connect face to face. Sessions are priced low enough that regular Londoners can come often. Some evenings even include free saunas for the local community.
All profit is reinvested into the project. That means free and low-cost sessions for NHS (National Health Service) staff, low-income residents, and grassroots groups. It also funds maintenance, expansion, and new programmes like the UK’s first social prescribing sauna project, which partners with healthcare providers to offer free sessions as part of wellbeing care.
The Experience Itself
Beyond the mission, the experience itself feels special. The saunas are wood-fired, keeping true to tradition and giving the heat a natural depth you do not find in electric setups. When water is poured onto the hot rocks, it carries a scent of eucalyptus and birch. The infusion is soaked overnight before being used, and once the steam rises, the room fills with a grounding and refreshing aroma that lingers with every breath.
Right outside the heat, multiple cold plunge pools wait for you. They range from 5 to 12 degrees Celsius, giving options for all levels of plungers. If you are new, you can ease into the slightly warmer plunge, while seasoned cold therapy fans can go straight into the icy depths. The contrast between the fire of the sauna and the sharp chill of the plunge is what makes the whole ritual so powerful.
Looking Ahead
Charlie and the team are not stopping here. They hope to expand into more London boroughs and eventually into major cities across the UK. Their belief is simple. Every community deserves access to a communal sauna. It is not just about heat and cold. It is about health, well-being, and the joy of coming together.
A Personal Reflection
For me, Community Sauna London feels less like a business and more like a movement. It is a reminder that the simplest rituals can be powerful. Sitting in the steam, cooling off in the plunge, and sharing it with strangers who feel like friends by the end of a session is something I will not forget.
I have visited sauna communities all over the world, and this stands out as one of the most unique. The focus on accessibility, the not-for-profit model, and the way people come together here is unlike anywhere else I have been. During my own session in Hackney, I ended up chatting with a few Londoners I had just met. By the time we were done, it felt like we had known each other for a while.
The atmosphere is warm in more ways than one. The staff bring so much passion to what they do, and you can feel it in the way they welcome people and keep the experience flowing. There is a real sense of pride and care in every detail, from the heat of the sauna to the freshness of the cold plunges. The vibes here are something special, and they left me both recharged and inspired.
They now run outdoor saunas in Hackney, Stratford, Camberwell, Peckham, and Bermondsey.
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