Over the last few years I’ve written a bit about the new wave of British saunas – mostly for The Guardian’s Saturday Magazine and its travel section.
I’ve sweated it out in Finnish-style former horseboxes both in the capital and along the coast, from Brighton’s Beach Box to Benone’s Hotbox in Northern Ireland. And all have their own vibe and distinctive energy: as converts (sauna bores?) know only too well, the practice is, in fact, rather addictive.
You may have heard about Lowlu, the impressive new Scandi style sauna on Caversham Road in Kentish Town – more on that next week, incidentally – but a mile further south is Lewis Cubitt Square, where yesterday the winter Equanimity Festival launched its 2026 wellbeing season.
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As previously, this year’s event features a range of activities designed to nurture both mind and body: experiences, workshops and classes ranging from sound baths and somatic breathwork to yoga and Sunday Reset Retreats.
But the central part of the festival is Slomo, the popular under-canvas “contrast therapy” experience created by wellbeing practitioners, Rob and Josie da Bank – better known to some as the founders of the legendary Bestival on the Isle Of Wight.
And their Slomo tipi returns this week, until February 22nd, with two spacious wood-fired saunas, three cold plunge pools (at three, six and eight degrees respectively), and an ice bath, all centred around a roaring fire in Lewis Cubitt Square.
It’s a life-affirming way to escape the relentless cold, wet and dark. Sitting in a group sauna ritual on Wednesday, our charismatic host wafted birch – known as a sauna whisk – while six of us breathed in and out deeply, experiencing löyly, the Finnish word for the steam that sizzles from adding water to hot stones. The heat came in waves, spiralling in intensity, before retreating, and then soaring once more.
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As you will undoubtedly now know, heat therapy improves blood flow to the brain and reduces inflammation, while the accompanying cold plunges – the three degree one is as cold as we dared – make serotonin levels shoot through the roof, as well as fortifying the immune system.
So my advice is to go boil your bones before plunging screaming into the iced water: this wild spa is an incongruous yet inspired touch of Scandinavian culture bang in the middle of N1C.
Next time: Kentish Town’s new sauna and plunge Lowlu reviewed.
The Equanimity Festival runs until March 31st 2026, with the Slomo tipi and sauna running until February 22nd. Sauna sessions are from £12 a person. More info here.
