Latest news with #WestCoastWellness
Irish Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish festival announces saunas and cold-water plunges to help music fans unwind
Thousands of festival-goers are set to unwind in saunas and cold-water plunges at Night and Day Festival. The Roscommon-based festival announced a full wellness programme to take place across the weekend, which kicks off on June 27 until 29. Festival-goers will be able to unwind and recharge at Night and Day with an expansive offering of wellness activities. Commenting on the announcement of the wellness programme, Carla and Olivia said: "Thank you to Night & Day for giving us this opportunity to participate and help organise the Wellness area. It has been a great experience, and we can't wait for the festival weekend to see it all put together and meet everyone." Night and Day co-founder Craig Hughes said: "We have wanted to enhance our wellness offering for some time so it is great to see it come to fruition. "Festivalgoers will be able to unwind and recharge each morning before dancing into the early hours each night!" Perched on the embankment overlooking Lough Key, Lough Allen adventures will be running their hot tub, sauna and cold plunge sessions. Ce Sauna will operate on the opposite side of the lake in a more secluded part of the festival. On Saturday morning, the wellness schedule will consist of Pilates by Aisling Dolan, Quantum Riki and sound healing experience with Bailey Barbour, a partner yoga and massage workshop by West Coast Wellness, followed by an outdoor yoga session with Nicole O'Kelly. On Sunday morning, Roscommon native Oisin O'Dowd will host a breathwork session followed by Restore and Flow yoga with Nicole O'Kelly. Attendees are required to bring their own yoga mats with them. Radiant Spaces will curate a calming chill out area for festivalgoers to unwind inside while looking out overlooking the tranquil Lough Key. The programme has been curated by students of the BBus (Hons) Tourism & Event Management course at ATU Sligo Carla Taylor and Olivia Elis. Full details and booking information can be found here. Acts previously announced to play Night and Day include; José González, KT Tunstall, The Wailers, The Stunning, Lisa Hannigan, Paul Brady, Sultans of Ping, Adwaith, Fionn Regan, Daithi, Joshua Burnside, Bog Bodies, Yard, Dark Isle, DUG, Frank, Skinner, Harvest (A Tribute to Neil Young), Shark School and James Keegan. Festival-goers can also explore the beautiful grounds and campsite at Lough Key Forest Park. Families will also be able to avail of the on-site activities such as zip-lining courses, forest trails and a tree-top walk. Tickets for Night and Day are on sale now at for €185 for weekend adult camping tickets, with children's tickets costing €2. Day tickets are also on sale now; Friday (€55), Saturday (€88) and Sunday (€88).
Scotsman
11-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Scotsman
Discover Scotland's top seven wild saunas
As saunas pop up on beaches, riverbanks, hilltops and woodland clearings across Scotland, the writer of a new guide to the phenomenon chooses seven of her favourite locations Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... What is a wild sauna? Let's start by saying what it's not. A wild sauna is not tucked away in a forgotten corner of a gym – dark, smelly and claustrophobic. It's not an add-on to a costly spa, where guests in fluffy robes and disposable slippers sip prosecco. It's not a space where bathers with gadgets track their heart rates. Many wild saunas perch – sometimes literally – on Britain's untamed fringes; they battle unpredictable elements to offer a healthy hit of outdoors and an exhilarating blast of hot and cold – with the latter coming from sea, lake, river, ice bath or outdoor shower. West Coast Wellness's wild sauna on Loch Fyne, Argyll and Bute | Rosie Barge Often honed out of horseboxes or trailers, wild saunas are novel sanctuaries where you can while away an hour, semi-naked and sweaty, watching nature perform in glorious Technicolour. The wild sauna 'movement' (we can call it that now that there are more than 200 and counting such saunas around the UK), takes most of its cues from Nordic bathing cultures, from Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, where sauna is a way of life, and steam, or löyly, the nations' lifeblood. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At the helm is a new generation of pioneering 'saunapreneurs' who stoke wood-burning fires in all weathers in order to deliver a dose of health and happiness to others. These trailblazers cite studies that show how sauna reduces cardiovascular diseases, eases pain, boosts immunity and improves our mental health. They know that persuading bewildered authorities and undynamic councils to offer affordable 'wild wellness' for all is a form of quiet activism. It may also be the future for our nation's ailing health. I visited tons of saunas for my new book. On every trip, from Ayrshire to Argyll, no sooner had I boarded the train home, than another sauna opened behind me. I met a rich tapestry of bathers – women in wetsuits, teenagers, triathletes, recovering addicts, young, old, newbies and veterans. All of them told me how sauna helps them manage loneliness, pain, anxiety, depression; how they've made new friends, found new communities, grown less awkward in their bodies and learned to embrace the long, dark British winter. Wild Sauna by Emma O'Kelly, a guide to the UK's best outdoor saunas is published by Wild Things Publishing | Wild Things Publishing I hope this list will tempt you to try a wild sauna or two. When it does, the fire will draw you in, the warmth will feed your soul and the heat will wrap its arms round you like a long-lost friend. THE GREEN GODDESS WILD SAUNA, ARRAN The Green Goddess Wild Water Sauna, a converted vintage truck that operates from Drumadoon Farm Estate, at Blackwaterfoot Beach, Arran | Dave Bennett What better way to enjoy the Isle of Arran than through the steamy windows of a vintage truck converted into a sauna, especially when beaches, streams and natural pools offer cold dips in such abundance? One such location, Blackwaterfoot Beach, has direct access to the clean waters of Drumadoon Bay, and both the bay and the sauna truck belong to the 640-acre Drumadoon Farm Estate. The sauna moves around the estate as part of Drumadoon's travelling spa, a new concept that includes whiskey barrel cold plunges and Swedish Hikki hot tubs, a chill-out tipi with a fire pit, changing tents, outdoor showers and a composting loo. WEST COAST WELLNESS, ARGYLL & BUTE Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad West Coast Wellness's wild sauna on Loch Fyne, Argyll and Bute | Rosie Barge The renaissance of Evanachan Farm reads like a fairy tale. When all four Barge siblings came back to the family home on Loch Fyne during the Covid-19 pandemic, they swam in the loch and dreamed of how they could move back to Scotland and make successful lives on a much-downsized sheep and dairy farm. Pooling their skills – among them are a doctor, an architect, a caterer, a brewer, a boat builder, a fish farmer, a yoga teacher and a nonagenarian grandmother - West Coast Wellness was born, offering yoga, wild swimming, hill walking, nourishing food and community. The Lochside Sauna was a natural addition, built from reclaimed timber from the 350-acre estate. SALTBOX SAUNA, OUTER HEBRIDES Travelling between Lewis, Harris and Uig, Saltbox is currently the only wood-fired sauna in the Outer Hebrides. | Immerse Hebrides Travelling between Lewis, Harris and Uig, Saltbox is currently the only wood-fired sauna in the Outer Hebrides. It's the brainchild of Norma MacLeod, an STA Open Water Coach and ex-competitive swimmer based in Stornoway who co-founded Immerse Hebrides, which runs retreats, swim tours and boat trips around the islands and knows their most scenic spots. Servicing them with a mobile sauna was a natural next step. Now there's a permanent sauna, with space for ten, offering rituals and ceremonies at Bayble Beach on Lewis, with plans for saltboxes on other islands too. ARISAIG SAUNA, INVERNESS-SHIRE The view from Arisaig Sauna | James Gillies James and Rebecca opened Arisaig Sauna in 2024 and it has quickly become known for its intense heat, regularly reaching 90-100°C. Surrounded by trees and crystal-clear waters, guests enjoy stunning views of the Skerries, Eigg, and Rum, along with a signature coffee scrub; made with locally sourced grinds this is a by-product of the collaboration with Glenfinnan Coffee Co, started by James and his brother Iain. A tarp hanging from two trees constitutes a changing area, there's a suspended watering can shower and a saltwater and seaweed bath. And the sea. It's tricky getting in at low tide (rock shoes are a must), but at high tide it's perfect for an exhilarating ʻdook'. HOT TOTTIE SAUNA, ARGYLL & BUTE The Hot Tottie van at Luss, Loch Lomond. | Theodora Van Duin Full disclosure: a 'hot tottie' in Glaswegian is a hot jacket potato, and there's nothing untoward about Kieran Izzett and Conlan Nimmo's sauna on the shore of Loch Lomond. Located at Luss, on a private estate, it offers spectacular views across the loch to Ben Lomond while an adjacent river is great for a cold dip. The boys are cold-water swimmers, and they get plenty of Glaswegians stopping by along with locals and swimming groups from Luss. Their idea? To replicate the old bath-house tradition where people meet up, in a beautiful setting for modern times. NOWHERE SAUNA, PERTHSHIRE Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Nowhere Sauna, beside the Mill Pond at Comrie Croft, Perthshire | Seth Tinsley There's a secret activism in the sauna community against the go, go, go mentality – and Lauren Gentry and Susanna Macintyre, founders of Nowhere Sauna, encourage it. 'There's a pressure point in society, and the awareness of wellness is a response to where we are at,' says Susanna. 'There's a need to stop, a need for space for a different flow.' With their partners, they built a six-seater horsebox sauna and placed it beside the Mill Pond at Comrie Croft. This 231-acre farm near Crieff offers accommodation, home-grown food and drink, and activities and relaxation in the great outdoors. Nowhere Sauna draws a creative crowd of parents, artists, musicians and freelance workers who all want to connect with something bigger than themselves. SOUL WATER SAUNA, EDINBURGH Soul Water Sauna has wild saunas at Portobello and Granton in Edinburgh. | Marc Miller When she moved to Edinburgh, Kirsty Carver launched a 'time bank' and built a community that would exchange time and skills instead of money. Many of this community came with her when she opened Soul Water Sauna on Portobello Beach in 2022. It's still there, and such is its popularity that Kirsty opened a second, bigger Soul Water Wild Spa at the other end of Edinburgh in Granton in 2024. Here, one sauna named Big Bear holds up to 18 people and its sibling Little Bear holds up to eight. There are showers, changing rooms, cold plunges made from beer stills, a beach and windswept views of the Firth of Forth plus a range of sessions based on traditional sauna rituals. Beside it is The Pitt, a not-for-profit community-facing outfit that brings together a food market, coffee shops, bars and a music and events space.
Scotsman
10-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Scotsman
Discover Scotland's top seven wild saunas
West Coast Wellness's wild sauna on Loch Fyne, Argyll and Bute | Rosie Barge As saunas pop up on beaches, riverbanks, hilltops and woodland clearings across Scotland, the writer of a new guide to the phenomenon chooses seven of her favourite locations Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... What is a wild sauna? Let's start by saying what it's not. A wild sauna is not tucked away in a forgotten corner of a gym – dark, smelly and claustrophobic. It's not an add-on to a costly spa, where guests in fluffy robes and disposable slippers sip prosecco. It's not a space where bathers with gadgets track their heart rates. Many wild saunas perch – sometimes literally – on Britain's untamed fringes; they battle unpredictable elements to offer a healthy hit of outdoors and an exhilarating blast of hot and cold – with the latter coming from sea, lake, river, ice bath or outdoor shower. West Coast Wellness's wild sauna on Loch Fyne, Argyll and Bute | Rosie Barge Often honed out of horseboxes or trailers, wild saunas are novel sanctuaries where you can while away an hour, semi-naked and sweaty, watching nature perform in glorious Technicolour. The wild sauna 'movement' (we can call it that now that there are more than 200 and counting such saunas around the UK), takes most of its cues from Nordic bathing cultures, from Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, where sauna is a way of life, and steam, or löyly, the nations' lifeblood. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At the helm is a new generation of pioneering 'saunapreneurs' who stoke wood-burning fires in all weathers in order to deliver a dose of health and happiness to others. These trailblazers cite studies that show how sauna reduces cardiovascular diseases, eases pain, boosts immunity and improves our mental health. They know that persuading bewildered authorities and undynamic councils to offer affordable 'wild wellness' for all is a form of quiet activism. It may also be the future for our nation's ailing health. I visited tons of saunas for my new book. On every trip, from Ayrshire to Argyll, no sooner had I boarded the train home, than another sauna opened behind me. I met a rich tapestry of bathers – women in wetsuits, teenagers, triathletes, recovering addicts, young, old, newbies and veterans. All of them told me how sauna helps them manage loneliness, pain, anxiety, depression; how they've made new friends, found new communities, grown less awkward in their bodies and learned to embrace the long, dark British winter. Wild Sauna by Emma O'Kelly, a guide to the UK's best outdoor saunas is published by Wild Things Publishing | Wild Things Publishing I hope this list will tempt you to try a wild sauna or two. When it does, the fire will draw you in, the warmth will feed your soul and the heat will wrap its arms round you like a long-lost friend. THE GREEN GODDESS WILD SAUNA, ARRAN The Green Goddess Wild Water Sauna, a converted vintage truck that operates from Drumadoon Farm Estate, at Blackwaterfoot Beach, Arran | Dave Bennett What better way to enjoy the Isle of Arran than through the steamy windows of a vintage truck converted into a sauna, especially when beaches, streams and natural pools offer cold dips in such abundance? One such location, Blackwaterfoot Beach, has direct access to the clean waters of Drumadoon Bay, and both the bay and the sauna truck belong to the 640-acre Drumadoon Farm Estate. The sauna moves around the estate as part of Drumadoon's travelling spa, a new concept that includes whiskey barrel cold plunges and Swedish Hikki hot tubs, a chill-out tipi with a fire pit, changing tents, outdoor showers and a composting loo. WEST COAST WELLNESS, ARGYLL & BUTE Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad West Coast Wellness's wild sauna on Loch Fyne, Argyll and Bute | Rosie Barge The renaissance of Evanachan Farm reads like a fairy tale. When all four Barge siblings came back to the family home on Loch Fyne during the Covid-19 pandemic, they swam in the loch and dreamed of how they could move back to Scotland and make successful lives on a much-downsized sheep and dairy farm. Pooling their skills – among them are a doctor, an architect, a caterer, a brewer, a boat builder, a fish farmer, a yoga teacher and a nonagenarian grandmother - West Coast Wellness was born, offering yoga, wild swimming, hill walking, nourishing food and community. The Lochside Sauna was a natural addition, built from reclaimed timber from the 350-acre estate. SALTBOX SAUNA, OUTER HEBRIDES Travelling between Lewis, Harris and Uig, Saltbox is currently the only wood-fired sauna in the Outer Hebrides. | Immerse Hebrides Travelling between Lewis, Harris and Uig, Saltbox is currently the only wood-fired sauna in the Outer Hebrides. It's the brainchild of Norma MacLeod, an STA Open Water Coach and ex-competitive swimmer based in Stornoway who co-founded Immerse Hebrides, which runs retreats, swim tours and boat trips around the islands and knows their most scenic spots. Servicing them with a mobile sauna was a natural next step. Now there's a permanent sauna, with space for ten, offering rituals and ceremonies at Bayble Beach on Lewis, with plans for saltboxes on other islands too. ARISAIG SAUNA, INVERNESS-SHIRE The view from Arisaig Sauna | James Gillies James and Rebecca opened Arisaig Sauna in 2024 and it has quickly become known for its intense heat, regularly reaching 90-100°C. Surrounded by trees and crystal-clear waters, guests enjoy stunning views of the Skerries, Eigg, and Rum, along with a signature coffee scrub; made with locally sourced grinds this is a by-product of the collaboration with Glenfinnan Coffee Co, started by James and his brother Iain. A tarp hanging from two trees constitutes a changing area, there's a suspended watering can shower and a saltwater and seaweed bath. And the sea. It's tricky getting in at low tide (rock shoes are a must), but at high tide it's perfect for an exhilarating ʻdook'. HOT TOTTIE SAUNA, ARGYLL & BUTE The Hot Tottie van at Luss, Loch Lomond. | Theodora Van Duin Full disclosure: a 'hot tottie' in Glaswegian is a hot jacket potato, and there's nothing untoward about Kieran Izzett and Conlan Nimmo's sauna on the shore of Loch Lomond. Located at Luss, on a private estate, it offers spectacular views across the loch to Ben Lomond while an adjacent river is great for a cold dip. The boys are cold-water swimmers, and they get plenty of Glaswegians stopping by along with locals and swimming groups from Luss. Their idea? To replicate the old bath-house tradition where people meet up, in a beautiful setting for modern times. NOWHERE SAUNA, PERTHSHIRE Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Nowhere Sauna, beside the Mill Pond at Comrie Croft, Perthshire | Seth Tinsley There's a secret activism in the sauna community against the go, go, go mentality – and Lauren Gentry and Susanna Macintyre, founders of Nowhere Sauna, encourage it. 'There's a pressure point in society, and the awareness of wellness is a response to where we are at,' says Susanna. 'There's a need to stop, a need for space for a different flow.' With their partners, they built a six-seater horsebox sauna and placed it beside the Mill Pond at Comrie Croft. This 231-acre farm near Crieff offers accommodation, home-grown food and drink, and activities and relaxation in the great outdoors. Nowhere Sauna draws a creative crowd of parents, artists, musicians and freelance workers who all want to connect with something bigger than themselves. SOUL WATER SAUNA, EDINBURGH Soul Water Sauna has wild saunas at Portobello and Granton in Edinburgh. | Marc Miller When she moved to Edinburgh, Kirsty Carver launched a 'time bank' and built a community that would exchange time and skills instead of money. Many of this community came with her when she opened Soul Water Sauna on Portobello Beach in 2022. It's still there, and such is its popularity that Kirsty opened a second, bigger Soul Water Wild Spa at the other end of Edinburgh in Granton in 2024. Here, one sauna named Big Bear holds up to 18 people and its sibling Little Bear holds up to eight. There are showers, changing rooms, cold plunges made from beer stills, a beach and windswept views of the Firth of Forth plus a range of sessions based on traditional sauna rituals. Beside it is The Pitt, a not-for-profit community-facing outfit that brings together a food market, coffee shops, bars and a music and events space.
