Putting Britain back on the map of great bathing cultures

“What’s the right price for a communal sauna?”

A few weeks ago, I asked this question on Instagram. I didn’t anticipate the flood of thoughtful, passionate responses, from sauna owners, practitioners and bathers all over the country. It quickly became clear that this question touches something deeper than money.

The steam was dense - thick as low-lying fog - and I couldn’t see the floor or the ceiling, only the occasional sweep of someone’s arm through the haze. With our vision blurred to silhouettes, our other senses took over: the press of heat and humidity on the skin, the scent of foamy lather, the sound of easy, curious chatter among 20 women who had somehow found themselves in a very hot bathing room, in a corner of East London, on a Sunday night. When our guide raised the long raffia brush, coated in a glossy meringue of soap, the noise softened and we squinted through the mist. 

As saunas step out of quiet corners, becoming vibrant spaces of ritual and connection, the   role of the ‘sauna master’ is rapidly evolving.  This sauna ‘guide’, or ‘host’ or ‘practitioner’    shapes the heat, creates the rhythm, blends the scent, and guides the story, taking bathers on a shared, sensory-led journey.  

At the end of November, the British Sauna Society travelled abroad to spectate at the Herbal Cup in Prague, Czech Republic. This competition has been running for 10 years and is dedicated to the art, skill and cultural heritage of herbal sauna rituals. We went to experience the event first‑hand, observe how the competition is conducted, and understand what would be required to host a UK edition next autumn.

As a Brit, I feel I have much in common with my Scandinavian cousins: an endurance of long, cold, grey winters; a love of thrillers; a passion for wild swimming and saunas.  In the course of researching two books on sauna culture, I’ve spent years sweating it out around Estonian lakes, and in hotboxes on windswept Norwegian archipelagos. Generally, when enjoying these activities, I’ve been wearing a swimsuit - and this is where any similarities to our Nordic neighbours end. 

This September, Dr Kath Jones (Founder, Wild-Ness Health & NHS GP) and Polly Wilson (Social Prescribing and Outreach Manager, Community Sauna Baths) represented the UK sauna-for-health movement at the 2025 Annual Medical Conference of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM) in Brighton. They presented From Clinic to Sauna: Fostering Synergy for Whole Person Care, introducing GPs, health professionals, and conference delegates to the idea that sauna use can play a meaningful role in integrative, whole-person care.

The British Sauna Society is delighted to announce that the UK will be joining the Sauna Herbal Cup for the very first time in 2026, sending a national team to compete on the world stage. This unique international competition celebrates the art of herbal sauna rituals and peeling procedures, showcasing creativity, tradition, and innovation from sauna masters across Europe and beyond.

Emma O’Kelly talks to Katja Pantzar, author of Helskini by Sauna, about her favourite places to soak up the sauna scene in Finland’s capital.