At the end of August we celebrated a year of having our wonderful barrel sauna in our garden.
Experiencing the change of seasons, with 68 saunas during that time, has brought something new to the appreciation of our garden and nature. Not only through the varying vistas seen out of the windows, as we relax in the hot fragrant atmosphere inside, but also from the different felt sensations being outside.
Installed on the hottest day in August 2025 our first sauna seemed to have very little contrast between inside and out.
Whereas in February we had to break the ice on our dip tank, for that refreshing (albeit brief) plunge after coming out of the sauna.
Sitting on the decking in front of Studio Hundy for a quiet breather between sauna sessions, the senses seem to be heightened, picking up seasonal smells ranging from the fragrance of honeysuckle, through the freshness of damp light rain, to the sharp crisp numbing of frost.
The sauna has been the focal point of a lot of creative additions during the year, both inside and out. Clare refers to this continuous activity on my part as “dressing the set”!
Drift wood pegs for robes and towels have been crafted; a terracotta bead sauna-count abacus created; wooden hooks above the windows for winter lanterns installed; a tile from our local pottery (Kinsman-Blake) given pride of place inside the barrel; a fishy soap holder accompanies the cold shower and, the most recent, a set of 7 five-pointed stars constructed around a string of 200 firefly solar lights. At night these create a beautiful “fleur de lys” reflection in the stainless steal chimney assembly.
And not to forget the mystical “Löylynhenki” – sauna spirit – sculpted from soapstone (by hukka.fi).
She sits on the igneous rocks (olivine diabase) that fill the chamber above the firebox of the woodburner. Her little hollow lap is filled with water and a few drops of an essential oil, which slowly evaporates with the heat.
I’ve made a short recording capturing the contrast therapy: water ladled onto the stones inside the barrel sauna, forming a wave of steam; cold outdoor shower and then cold emersion in the dip tank – all with the background of a gusty day! Listen on headphones if you can.
The regular repetition of saunas for a full year has enabled us to value the process as a ritual – stacking wood in the sauna store, preparing the woodburner, lighting and waiting for the space to gently heat to 50-60oC; the (often) 2 hours dedicated to 4 or 5 sauna sessions of 15 min with 5-10 min outside (cold shower, cold emersion and rest); even the closing down time (dip tank covered, sauna buckets emptied, towels hung ….) is part of the whole experience; each time followed by the delightful tingling feeling returning into the house.
Thank you sauna spirit for your gentle relaxing presence throughout the last 12 months.
68 great löylys – Iso kiitos !
