London's wood-fired saunas are the community end of the city's scene. They sit in yards and on hard standing, run by small operators, and they are priced at the bottom of the capital's range.
A real fire in a city this dense takes some arranging, and it shows in how carefully these venues are run. Most pair the stove with a cold plunge on site and sell sessions by the slot.
In London, 8 of the curated saunas fit this cut. See the full London guide for every venue, or keep scrolling for just the wood-fired saunas.
Every wood-fired sauna in London
Community Sauna Baths — Camberwell
£London, United Kingdom
Community Sauna Baths' Camberwell site sits in Ruskin Park, with three wood-fired saunas and four cold plunges. One sauna is step-free, and the plunges run from 5 to 10°C. Run as a community-interest company, it pairs proper Nordic-cycle bathing with low concession pricing.
Community Sauna Baths — Hackney Wick
£London, United Kingdom
The flagship of London's community sauna movement: 7 wood-fired saunas in a converted bathhouse at Hackney Wick. It is non-profit, and the heat is uncompromising. The canalside setting near the Olympic Park adds an industrial atmosphere that suits it.
Community Sauna Baths — Peckham
£London, United Kingdom
The off-grid, pared-back member of the Community Sauna Baths family, in Glengall Wharf community garden. Two wood-fired saunas and a cold shower, with no plunge at this site. Concession pricing keeps it the cheapest way into the group.
Community Sauna Baths — Stratford
£London, United Kingdom
Community Sauna Baths' Stratford site sits in a community garden beside The Lighthouse. There are several wood-fired saunas, including an octagonal aufguss room and a small private cabin. Cold plunges and hot and cold showers complete the cycle, and concession pricing keeps it open to all.
Innervisions Alchemy
£London, United Kingdom
Innervisions Alchemy runs a wood-fired sauna and a cold plunge pool outdoors among the industrial units of Ilderton Wharf, in South Bermondsey. Shared sessions last an hour or ninety minutes, with a terrace to cool off between rounds. The same building holds a yoga studio, treatment rooms and a lounge.
Skuna
£London, United Kingdom
Skuna moors its wood-fired sauna boats at West India Quay, on the dock water below the Canary Wharf towers. Between rounds you climb to cold plunge pools on the roof or tip a bucket shower over your head. Sessions run to curated music, and the sauna team leads a weekly Aufguss.
Sweheat Sauna
£London, United Kingdom
Sweheat is an independent outdoor pop-up on Western Beach at Royal Victoria Dock, with wood-fired saunas and a cold plunge pool. Public sessions are shared and mixed, and a private sauna takes groups of up to six. Guest sauna masters run Aufguss and Baltic whisking evenings, some of them textile-free.
The Cabin
£London, United Kingdom
The Cabin is a seasonal outdoor sauna on Clapham Common, set up near the children's paddling pool for the winter. A 55-minute session moves between a wood-fired sauna, cold plunge tubs and fresh air on the Common. Guided sessions show first-timers what to do, and a yurt hosts yoga.