'Sussex's community sauna has created magic'

Inclusivity and accessibility are at the heart of Sussex's first non-profit community sauna, its director has said.

Opened in 2023, the Stanmer Sauna Garden, in Brighton, East Sussex, is believed to be the second non-profit community sauna in the UK.

Bella Kirkus, director of the Stanmer Sauna Garden Community Interest Company which runs the facility, said the Hackney Wick community baths - run by Community Sauna Baths - had been a source of inspiration.

"They're making low-cost sauna available to as many people as possible around the country, but their remit is to educate people about sauna and make it inclusive and accessible," she said.

Community Sauna Baths helps to grow and support other community interest saunas.

"It was their first pilot scheme outside of London," Ms Kirkus said.

She and Katie Bracher had the idea of setting up an off-grid sauna after discovering a community plot in Stanmer Park was being given up.

With a sliding scale of fees and access to 60 volunteers, the sauna has been a welcome addition to Stanmer, they say.

"Everyone's got a special place for Stanmer in their hearts, but it's a lot more culturally diverse than people think," Ms Kirkus said.

Meah Freeman-Burch and Kat Cosgrove have led creative sauna hat-making workshops in Stanmer.

Ms Freeman-Burch said "the whole reason" she became interested in sauna and craft was as a way of improving her mental health.

Ms Cosgrove believes that saunas help people express themselves without inhibitions.

"It's an alternative to going to the pub or doing things involving drinking which has its own place, but it's a space where people can meet and connect over a really enjoyable activity," she said.

"It really improves people's self-confidence in their bodies."

Sauna master Natalie Campo recently co-hosted a workshop at Stanmer Sauna Garden to raise money for Sauna Aid – a charity bringing sauna to refugees.

She believes that using the sauna is a low effort but high-reward activity.

"Sauna is such an easily and quickly accessible place and it really helps us support the rehabilitation process," she said.

"With Bella and all the community volunteers here, it's created magic."

The British Sauna Society said there were more than 150 public saunas in the UK and Ireland.

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