Bristol Community Sauna was created to make heat-and-cold bathing accessible and inclusive.
A place where anyone in the mood for a sauna has access and can feel welcome, comfortable and safe.
Meeting genuine community need in a sustainable way is important to us. That is why we are a Community Interest Company (CIC). We are not-for-profit, and reinvest all revenue back into developing and maintaining our local sauna space. We run the site in a way that is environmentally aware too, using an all-electric sauna and managing resources carefully.
We are proud of our growing sauna community whether you are an enthusiast or a newbie, we welcome you to get involved.
Bristol Community Sauna began with a single Instagram post – “SAUNA?” – bringing together a group of local sauna enthusiasts to imagine what the overgrown former council car park behind St Anne’s House could become.
We registered as Bristol Community Sauna CIC. Huge shout out to The Community Sauna Network whose support, advice and insights were instrumental in helping us to get off the ground.
Work on the build began with the local community coming together to clear the site, build structures, lay decking and bring the space to life. These community volunteer days helped establish a strong sense of shared ownership from the outset.
Our first all-electric Finnish sauna was delivered! We had this custom-built with a large window to overlook our emerging green space and with physical accessibility in mind.
We officially opened to the public! In those early days, our small group of founders kept things running alongside full-time jobs but as demand grew, we brought on our first sauna attendants and started opening daily.
We realise that in order to have the space open more often, we need to grow our team so we enrol our first 3 sauna attendants.
As demand continued to grow, we introduced our much loved second sauna, “Bluebell”, a rented and temporary addition. This helped increase our capacity and welcome more people in.
We ran a co-design workshop in May and June of 2025, gathering thoughts from those who attend the sauna, staff and St Annes House Tenants on what is working well and what could improve.
For more information, read the full report!
We welcomed our tenth thousand user and first centurion! We were featured in Britain’s Best Sauna’s and The Sauna Guide to South West England and on ITV Bristol!
In 2026 we put your recommendations into action with our Expansion Plan Crowdfunder Campaign!
After running the co-design workshop in 2025, we identified five key areas you thought we could improve upon in 2026.
For more information about the findings of the workshop, please read the full report.
We are planning the next stage of Bristol Community Sauna, shaped by our recent community consultation.
If you’d like to follow the journey and be part of what comes next, sign up to hear more.
