Sauna in the Meadow
Wild Sauna Club and Brook Meadow team up for a steamy summer.
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Brook Meadow campsite and Wild Sauna Club are teaming up to give us a truly dreamy Summer of Sauna. We spoke to Claire and Laura about their collaboration.
Laura Can you tell us what Wild Sauna Club is and what services you offer? Wild Sauna Club is a mobile, wood-fired sauna experience designed to reconnect people with nature and themselves. We aim to provide amazing experiences that can enhance people’s mental and physical health, and provide community connection. We have a professionally converted horsebox sauna, and we offer wild spa sessions with a mix of sauna, cold plunge and nature immersion. We create the opportunity for people to pause, put their phones down, breathe, relax, and embrace the healing and restorative power of hot, cold and community. Recently, we also added rental of wood-fired sauna tents to our offering, allowing people to create a Nordic spa in their own garden. What was your journey to setting up Wild Sauna Club? After years in a fast-paced, screen-heavy marketing career, I’d been tentatively seeking something more meaningful and active, but hadn’t worked out what that might be. Then after losing my dad to cancer in 2022, I was also looking for ways to better support my mental health. I’d been an avid open-water swimmer since 2012, and on a trip to Polzeath in Cornwall, during the Easter break in 2024, I stumbled across a mobile sauna on the beach when looking for sea swimming groups that I could join. After a swim in the sea, the heat of the sauna felt amazing, like time was standing still inside the sauna but through the picture window we could see the world carrying on around us. I was instantly hooked and started to deep dive mobile sauna. It became apparent that the UK sauna scene was growing, but we didn’t have any nature-based options in our area. Something within me was so taken with the restorative power of sauna, that I just knew I had to create something, and Wild Sauna Club was born. What are the main benefits of sauna and cold plunge, both physically and mentally? Physically, sauna and cold plunge as contrast therapy, can improve circulation and heart health, boost the immune system, improve the skin, aid muscle recovery and metabolic health, provide pain relief, and promote detoxification. Mentally, they can help reduce stress, enhance mood, improve sleep quality, and increase mental clarity and stress tolerance. There has also been lots of studies in Finland that shows regular sauna use (3-4 times per week) can even reduce the risk and instances of heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. Particularly in the sauna, there is also a massive community angle. My sauna seats seven people and you can have seven strangers arrive for a sauna session and within the first two minutes they all get talking, sharing stories and experiences as they relax in the heat. There’s a famous sauna saying that ‘all people are created equal, but nowhere more so than in a sauna’. I see people go on a real journey when then come to sauna. They arrive all wrapped up in coats and reluctantly shed the layers to leave just their swimwear. But after only 15 minutes in the heat of the sauna, they start to relax and enjoy the process. Then with a few cycles in the hot and cold under their belts, they look like different people. They are happier in themselves, warm to the core and confidently hoping between the sauna and the cold plunge. How did the collaboration with Brook Meadow come about? I reached out to Claire via Instagram after one of my regular sauna users suggested it would make the perfect summer spot. Our trial event in May completely sold out, and feedback was great. So, we quickly got on with planning our summer collab. Brook Meadow’s lush surroundings and thoughtfully curated spaces offer the perfect canvas for our lakeside sauna and cold plunge weekends. Together, we’ve created a boutique wild spa experience that feels grounding and indulgent, a little slice of Nordic sauna bathing culture in the English countryside. What do you have coming up in the future? This summer is mainly all about Brook Meadow. Having been fully mobile since October, it’s exciting to have a home for 11 weeks. We’ve lined up a summer of lakeside sauna weekends, offering guests and day visitors the chance to unplug, unwind, and soak up the healing power of contrast therapy in nature. We’re also providing a recovery zone with contrast therapy for The District Games in August, a local cross fit competition and collab between Harborough’s Jim Club and Kibworth’s 200Strong. Beyond that, we have some exciting plans in the pipeline for more permanent locations where we can give people the opportunity to regularly access the benefits of sauna, cold water, and nature. How can people book Wild Sauna Club and Brook Meadow Wild Spa? Booking for the wild spa can be made via the Wild Sauna Club website: wildsaunaclub.co.uk/brook-meadow Sessions are for 60 minutes and cost £20 per person. If you’re a day visitor to Brook Meadow for the wild spa, there will also be a day visitor charge of £4 per person to be paid at reception on arrival. During your session you cycle through periods in the heat and then cool down. The cool down could be in the chilled and filtered cold water baths that will be set to 14 degrees Celsius, or it could be sitting on a deckchair in the breeze. It’s all about doing what works for you. You’ll be guided through everything and then listen to your body to decide how long you spend in the hot and the cold – everyone’s bodies and tolerances are different, and we have to tune into ourselves. It’s not a place for ego or competitiveness. We’d love to welcome you to our Brook Meadow wild spa with Wild Sauna Club. Claire Can you tell us how long you have been running Brook Meadow and what inspired you to open the campsite? We have been trading as Brook Meadow for more than thirty-four years on our farm, The Wrongs, which my family have been working since 1913. I came back to the farm seven years ago, following a successful design career in the south of England. It was time for my dear old parents to hand over the baton to me as one day, I will to my son. I did not, however, leave my architect’s skills behind. Since coming home I’ve dived headlong into developing the site and accommodations into the luxury glamping and camping destination it is today. The inspiration came directly from the land itself: this place is truly magical, with the stunning lake, pastures and woodland. I wanted to create somewhere people could switch off from the pace of modern life and reconnect with nature, without sacrificing their creature comforts. Blending nostalgic countryside adventure with a sense of style and luxury. What does your typical year look? We’re open all year round, and each season weaves its own story. In Winter, we host our festive creative retreats with Christmas and Easter floristry, and entertaining workshops in collaboration with La Fête Fleurie. Spring and Summer are when the landscape truly bursts into life with lush greenery surrounding the lake, making it the ideal environment for campfire sing-alongs and dog shows, to family-friendly festivals, nature crafting, and wellness weekends. This year, I’m especially thrilled to introduce our collaboration with Wild Sauna Club as part of our summer programme. It’s the ultimate spa-meets-nature experience, right here at Brook Meadow. What makes Brook Meadow special? It’s the balance of refined luxury and wild natural located on a real working farm, which is not too remote and is within easy reach of London and Birmingham. Our glamping options feel boutique, our washrooms are finished to spa-hotel standards and the setting beside the lake, surrounded by nature, is simply breathtaking. Our frequent and consistent five-star reviews and awards are the proof of this. This summer, we’re enhancing that experience even further with our lakeside sauna and cool down lounging/sunning area. It’s the kind of scene you might expect by Lake Como, but it’s tucked away in the countryside near Market Harborough. How did the collaboration with Wild Sauna Club come about? Laura reached out to me on Instagram, and I was instantly drawn to her and what she could bring to our campsite. It felt like a natural and exciting fit for Brook Meadow and after a recent sell out sauna trial, we decided to turn up the heat and roll out eleven more lakeside sauna weekends. We share a passion for creating restorative, meaningful experiences in nature and I could immediately see how her beautifully converted horsebox, sauna and cold plunge would add a whole new dimension of luxury experiences to our lakeside offering. It’s a symbiosis where we can each elevate the other’s offering. This summer, we’re bringing Laura’s signature wild sauna to life with a few Brook Meadow twists: a romp of colour and pattern; pretty parasols; an artfully designed lounging space with a lake backdrop to a wild spa that will feel like a boutique retreat in the woods! What is your favourite thing about your job? I get to bring in my background in architecture and interior design to curate spaces that tell stories. Our Marabou safari tent, for example, was inspired by the film Out of Africa and provides the sense of timeless escape to a different era. I’m often touched by how the place and accommodations have the power to transform people. Guests often arrive carrying the weight of daily life, but within a short time, nature and thoughtful design work wonders and guests unwind and rejuvenate. I love to see children roaming free, with their imaginations running wild in our natural play area, and excited for the moooovie nights in the cowshed cinema, where we’ve created a cosy auditorium of hessian covered straw bale seating, or the simple joy of collecting their own eggs for breakfast freshly from the nest box. I’m always so happy to see returning guests, it tells me that I’ve done a good job and they’ve had a good time. |
Issue 26
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