January is full of a multitude of thoughts and feelings – sticking to New Year’s resolutions, getting fit, wellness, winter blues – you name it it’s all around right now. But in amongst all the gym offers, healthy food options and the like, there’s a growing community of saunas at some of the city’s public spaces.
Whether you are looking to try something new, improve your wellness, or simply fancy taking the plunge, Bristol’s community saunas offer proper authentic Scandinavian wooden structures, icy plunge pools, silent sessions and more for you to try.
We’ve compiled a list of the community saunas you can visit in January – and in some cases, all the year through…
Orchard Sauna at Windmill Hill City Farm
Address: Philip Street, Bedminster, BS3 4EA
Windmill Hill City Farm opened its own sauna and plunge pool a year ago. Named The Orchard, it has its very own outdoor barrel sauna, plunge pool, chill-out seating for relaxing between sessions, a hot shower, changing area and place to store belongings, as well as its own compost toilet and a spot to fill up water bottles.
The farm site in Philip Street, Bedminster, is known for its peaceful inner-city farm life – including cows, pigs, sheep and ducks – as well as cafe and shop. The Orchard Sauna was “set up in late 2023 to bring the outdoor sauna experience to city centre Bristol” with its aims listed as being sustainability, providing a friendly environment and a sense of community.
A communal session will cost £15 for an hour among up to seven strangers, while private group sessions will set you back £100 for an hour for you and up to seven others. Sessions are available to book two weeks before the session and there’s now even ‘silent sauna’ sessions, for ‘quiet reflection’ if you really want to relax without interruption.
Bristol Community Sauna at St Anne’s House
Address: St Anne’s House, Brislington, BS4 4AB
This Finnish-inspired community sauna opened in Bristol in 2024. Located in the garden of St Anne’s House, a charity-run creative community hub in Brislington, the sauna opened for testing sessions in June and officially in August, and can cater to 14 people at a time.
A 75-minute session will set you back just £10 and includes two cooled and filtered cold water plunges, and three cold showers to use afterwards. For those who wish to enjoy the facilities more than three times a month, you can buy a membership for just £15 a month, which will give you sessions at the cheaper price of £5 rather than the non-member price of £10.
According to the Sauna’s website, it offers a 14-person locally custom-built traditional Finnish electric sauna, as well as indoor changing rooms, toilets and a spacious deck that houses the sauna itself.
It is described as a “welcoming retreat in the heart of Bristol, offering space for relaxation, wellness and community spirit” and was inspired by the “increasing social prescription of saunas by the NHS for enhancing mental and physical health and combating isolation”. Its start-up costs were funded by Community Sauna Network, who also consulted on various aspects of starting a community sauna.
St Anne’s House plays host to a range of community projects, rooms to hire, youth projects, a community cafe, cooperatively-run gym, play therapy, artist studios and project space, coworking space, rehearsal space, wellbeing therapy rooms, ceramic studios and much more. It was set up and is run by Bristol social enterprise charity, Bricks.
Ardagh Community Sauna
Address: Ardagh Pavilion, off Kellaway Avenue, Horfield, BS6 7YL
The Ardagh Community Sauna is a ‘pop up urban wellness retreat, offering a space to relax and unwind’ and will be open throughout January, after a successful run in December 2024. This 16-person wood fired sauna, cold showers and plunge pools also boast changing facilities and a relaxation area.
What’s more, the sauna is now offering bookings until 6pm, so you can visit after work. Also supported by the Community Sauna Network who have helped with consulting on various aspects of starting a community sauna, each session lasts 60 minutes and costs £15.
There is an opening offer of £10 for a 30 minute session. This is a walk up only offer and dependent on availability bookable at the sauna.
And, while the sauna can’t currently accommodate group bookings online, you can pop by or send an email if you wish to book a private session. Soon, female-only and silent sauna sessions will also be available.