Sauna Summit Adventure 2025

It felt very different as I headed to the UK Sauna Summit in London, one year on from the first ever such gathering of wild sauna operators. 

Last May all we had was a shed of reclaimed cedar and a vague idea that we could fashion some sort of sauna with it. A year on though, progress has been made. Our beautiful Beyla arrived over six months ago and now offers wild saunas in gorgeous, iconic locations around the Scottish Borders, usually beside cold water for natural contrast therapy. 

Now we have a team, led by wonderful, creative and can-do Joanna who is reaching more people every day with her lovely socials and warm newsletters. We have a pool of friendly sauna hosts – trained in first aid and fantastic at looking after our guests and our sauna. Together, we have honed our sauna offer, and brought Cedar Hus to life. In collaboration with a fantastic group of individuals we offer unique sauna experiences, and bring nature and healthy activity into more lives with wild swimming, foraging, exercise and restorative practices in the outdoors.

 

We have growing and loyal sauna-ists, who leave Beyla replenished and calm after working through the heat and often cold with a welcome boost of feel-good hormones. Their feedback, encouragement and joy is so motivating; they drive us to find the best locations and the right mix of sauna experiences to keep things interesting.

 

I’m feeling so grateful for our fantastic sauna family – our team, collaborators and customers, and to all those who help us along the way:

What a difference a year makes. There I was on the train trying to banish the crushing feeling of imposter syndrome – we are still such newbies in this sauna world, with so much to learn! Little did I know that many sauna operators feel that way because it’s such a new and evolving sector.

 

Together though, at events like this fantastic Sauna Summit, we took in abundant information. I learnt about our physiology, water and contrast therapy safety, sauna dynamics, the history and culture of sweat bathing. This knowledge exchange with experts and peers helps us all feel more confident and better at what we do.

 

The best thing about the summit though was the feeling that we sauna operators are in it together. We are all unique little businesses, with teams working outside and long hours often in remote places, and we are all passionate about sauna and how this practice can help more people feel better and build communities. Gathering together, and considering common challenges like increasing accessibility and how we can be good businesses that do good too makes so much sense – thank you to the British Sauna Society for the pulling off such a useful event, and to our lovely colleagues around Scotland, the UK and Ireland.

 

To quote Max at Finnmark who was talking about the growing popularity of sauna culture, “a rising tide helps all the little boats”, and all the little boats are helping each other too.