Spring 2026 is shaping up to be the biggest season yet for sauna and wild swimming in the UK.
New venues are opening, established favourites are expanding, and the scene is broadening in ways that matter. Whether you're a seasoned cold-water dipper, new to sauna, or running a business in this space, here's what's happening right now.
This is the first in a new monthly series. We'll be covering openings, expansions and operator news from across the UK — built around the places and people that make this scene what it is.
Wales: sauna villages, award winners and coastal newcomers
Wales has arguably become the UK's most exciting sauna region in 2026, with major new openings in Cardiff and along the West Wales coast.
Hikitalo Sauna Village — Cardiff (opening 19 April)
The biggest Welsh opening this month is Hikitalo's new sauna village in central Cardiff — described as a first of its kind for Wales.
Tucked behind Meanwhile House on the Curran Embankment, the village brings three bespoke wood-fired saunas, three hot and cold plunges, showers, changing facilities and a communal courtyard to the heart of the capital. It also features what's being billed as the UK's first purpose-built multi-plunge experience — a dedicated setup of contrasting hot and cold pools designed specifically for contrast therapy.
Hikitalo is already well known for its cliffside sauna in Sandy Bay, Porthcawl. The Cardiff venue is a significant scale-up.
Hwyl Outdoor Sauna — Saundersfoot seeks permanent home
In Pembrokeshire, the award-winning Hwyl Outdoor Sauna has submitted a planning application to make its harbour-side position at Saundersfoot permanent. Originally granted temporary permission in 2024, the business won Sauna of the Year 2026/27 at the Wales Prestige Awards and has featured in national guidebooks.
Sauna Uno — mobile coastal sauna launches in West Wales
Also in Pembrokeshire, Sauna Uno has launched as a custom-built mobile sauna bringing a Nordic-style experience to the West Wales coast. The wood-fired sauna pairs heat therapy with sea swims, set against Pembrokeshire's cliffs, beaches and Atlantic skies.
London: Canary Wharf, Bermondsey and a city getting serious about sauna
Sea Lanes Canary Wharf — Olympic-sized lido opening this Summer
The biggest sauna and swim story in London right now is Sea Lanes Canary Wharf. This major new open-air swimming and wellness complex is due to open at Eden Dock this Summer.
The approved plans include a 50-metre, six-lane floating freshwater pool, two glass-fronted saunas powered entirely by renewable energy, a community clubhouse, food and drink, and a wetsuit concierge service. The pool floats within the dock — not in the Thames — and uses naturally filtered water consistently rated "excellent" by EU Bathing Standards since July 2024.
Operated by the team behind Sea Lanes Brighton, the venue is designed as a stepping stone between pool swimming and open water. It'll be open 364 days a year with lifeguarded sessions, pay-per-swim and membership options.
For London's growing community of cold-water swimmers and sauna enthusiasts, this could be transformative — a permanent, high-quality, year-round facility in the heart of the city.
Bermondsey railway arch could become community sauna
A planning application has been lodged with Southwark Council to turn a vacant railway arch at 132 Druid Street in Bermondsey into a community sauna and cold plunge facility.
The site sits within walking distance of both London Bridge and Bermondsey stations, it's part of a wider pattern in south London, where disused railway arches are increasingly being repurposed as venues — bringing community wellness into urban spaces that would otherwise sit empty.
Liverpool: Wyld Sauna's big expansion
Liverpool's Wyld Sauna — widely recognised as the UK's first public floating sauna — is in the middle of a major expansion at Princes Dock.
Since opening in November 2024, Wyld has welcomed thousands of guests and become a genuine waterfront landmark. Now the team is adding a second custom-designed 16-person floating sauna alongside the existing 30-person one, plus new outdoor showers and improved toilet facilities and a quayside café with outdoor seating.
The expansion goes further than infrastructure. Wyld is introducing a year round programme called "Wellness on water" which focuses on mindfulness movement and community connection.
For anyone interested in how sauna and wild swimming can sit at the heart of a city, Wyld is one to watch.
Manchester: Therme takes shape
Therme Manchester — £500m wellness resort visibly emerging
This is one of the biggest sauna and swim stories in the UK right now. New aerial drone footage released this month shows the £500 million Therme Manchester wellness resort starting to take physical shape for the first time, with earthworks defining the site and the outline of the project's central circular hub now clearly visible.
Once completed in late 2028, Therme Manchester will be one of the world's largest urban wellbeing resorts — featuring lagoon and wave pools, multi-sensory sauna rituals, steam rooms, waterslides, spa therapies, and health and fitness experiences. The project is also using 3D printing to repurpose construction materials into architectural features, furniture and recreational elements.
For anyone in the sauna and swim space, this is a signal of where things are heading. Manchester is already home to a growing scene of independent operators — The Good Sauna, Hive Sauna and FIX Manchester among them — but Therme represents a different scale entirely.
RAW Studios — Manchester's first pilates, sauna and ice studio
Also new this month, RAW Studios is opening in Ancoats as Manchester's first combined pilates, sauna and ice studio. The space will offer mat pilates, reformer pilates and barre classes alongside sauna and ice sessions — designed around recovery and wellness, with classes built for every body.
It's another sign of the crossover between sauna culture and the wider fitness and wellness scene — and RAW is positioning itself in one of Manchester's most active neighbourhoods for community-led wellbeing.
What this means
What stands out about the sauna and wild swim landscape in April 2026 isn't just the volume of new openings — it's the range. Urban sauna villages in Cardiff, mobile saunas on the West Wales coast, railway arch community projects in London, floating saunas expanding in Liverpool, and a £500m resort rising in Manchester.
For operators, the audience is growing and the demand for quality discovery, partnerships and community connection has never been higher. For swimmers and sauna-goers, the choice has never been better.
We'll be updating this series monthly with the latest openings and community news across the UK. If you're running a sauna or wild swim spot and want to be featured, or you're interested in partnering with us, get in touch.
