Community Sauna Baths opens a second location in Stratford
After huge popularity in Hackney Wick, London’s first authentic wood-fired sauna has opened a second site in a community garden in Stratford.
Community Sauna Baths has opened a second location in Stratford following the huge success of its Nordic-style saunas and plunge pools in Hackney Wick.
The new site is a minute’s walk away from Stratford International Station and is located in Stratford Community Gardens on Penny Brookes Street.
Equipped with three communal saunas, plunge pools and cold baths, the Stratford site offers people sweat-bathing traditions from around the world, from the German Aufguss experience to Finnish leaf-whisking.
Visitors are encouraged to participate in the ‘Nordic Cycle’ by rotating between the hot saunas and the cold plunge to enhance the experience of both.
In 2022, the not-for-profit enterprise launched its flagship site in a derelict 1930s public baths building on East Way in Hackney Wick, offering visitors seven wooden saunas ranging from converted horse boxes to traditional Finnish styles.
The Stratford sauna is a partnership with landowners and developers Hadley Property Group, who were eager to make use of the vacant site until its redevelopment in 2025.
Community Sauna Baths launched in 2021 to make saunas more accessible to low-income members of the public, and do so by offering concessionary rates and keeping entry fees reduced to £8.50 off-peak and £15 at peak times.
On Monday 12 February, the first steps towards converting one of the Stratford saunas into a disabled-accessible space will be put into motion, and Community Sauna Baths is currently working with local social prescribers to provide free guided saunas for those who face accessibility barriers.
While saunas and sweat lodges have been wellness staples for over 10,000 years, the global sauna and spa market has boomed since 2021 and is forecast to reach a value of US$4.65 billion in 2025.
Polly Wilson, Community Outreach Officer at Community Sauna Baths, said: ‘We wish to share the numerous health benefits of saunas, including improved circulation, detoxification and stress relief, whilst welcoming you to enjoy our friendly community and experience the positive social and mental impact post-sauna.’
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