A Finnish-inspired community sauna has opened in Bristol. 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.
Since June, those behind the sauna have been “ironing out” a lot of its processes and systems, to ensure its visitors can enjoy all it has to offer. 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 much more. It was set up and is run by Bristol social enterprise charity, Bricks.