Our Story

We believe that wellbeing should be accessible to everyone.
Glasgow Community Sauna exists to help make that a reality.

In 2020, as Covid hit, council-run health suites in leisure centres across Glasgow were closed. After years of neglect, these saunas and steam rooms are unlikely to ever reopen. For many people, the alternatives were limited: travel out to Loch Lomond, or pay for an expensive gym membership or a hotel spa day. We felt that Glasgow deserved something different – an affordable, welcoming community sauna that was open to everyone.

Glasgow is on the same latitude as countries with the biggest sauna cultures in the world! Why is the only warm place to be the pub?! So, we founded Glasgow Community Sauna in 2025 to create a space where people could slow down, connect with others and experience the restorative benefits of heat contrasting cold. At a time when loneliness, poor mental health and social isolation are affecting more people than ever, we believe something as simple as sitting together in a sauna has a huge impact.

With the help of many friends and volunteers, we have hand built two saunas; renovated a forgotten corner of a community garden into an accessible, urban oasis; built changing rooms, decking, ramps and the best cold plunge system in Scotland.

We’ve gone at all this with the spirit of DIY and community.

We opened our first wood-fired sauna in Pollokshields in November 2025 and have since welcomed thousands of people through our doors. Alongside public sessions, we work closely with charities, community organisations and healthcare partners to provide free and subsidised sessions for people who might otherwise face barriers to accessing wellbeing activities. From LGBTQ+ groups and refugees to people recovering from trauma, neurodivergent communities and local residents, our aim is to make sauna a space where everyone feels they belong.

We're proud to operate as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC), meaning every surplus we generate is reinvested into expanding access, maintaining our facilities, supporting community programmes and expanding to new sites across Glasgow (stay tuned!).

Come down and visit us, meet your neighbours, get aff your phone and connect with your body in the heat of our hand crafted saunas.