About six months ago, I had an idea. Not a vague, woolly idea, a proper, I-can-see-how-this-works idea. What if Mid Devon had its own wood-fired sauna experience, set in the Devonshire countryside?
The concept wasn't plucked from thin air. I have been wild swimming for over a decade, and cold water has been a huge part of my life, the stillness it brings, the laughter it creates with friends, the way it makes you feel completely, utterly present. Adding a sauna to that felt like the obvious next step. Heat and cold, together. Accessible to everyone, not just the brave ones willing to plunge straight in.
So I started planning. Here is what the last six months have actually looked like.
Step one: understanding the business
Before anything else, I needed to understand whether this was actually viable. That meant sitting down and honestly working through a business plan and model. The big questions were:
- What does a good sauna actually cost to buy, and what are the different options?
- What kind of experience do people want from an outdoor sauna?
- What would the initial outlays look like, and when could the business break even?
- What are the licensing, insurance, and health and safety requirements?
The research was fascinating. There is a huge range of sauna options, from barrel saunas and cabin saunas to mobile trailer-mounted ones, each with different costs, capacities, and installation requirements. Spending time on this properly made me more confident, not less. The numbers made sense. The demand was clearly there.
'The research was fascinating. There is a huge range of sauna options, each with different costs and possibilities. Spending time on this made me more confident, not less.'
The venue hunt: scouting Mid Devon
This has been the most time-consuming part, and honestly, one of the most enjoyable. I pulled up Google Maps and started working systematically across Mid Devon, looking for landowners and businesses with the right kind of outdoor space.
I have approached a lot of people. The response has been genuinely encouraging, the idea lands well, people get it immediately, and there is obvious enthusiasm. But finding the right venue has turned out to be more complex than I expected.
The criteria matter enormously. A great sauna location needs:
- Good road access and parking, people need to be able to get there easily, and arrive feeling relaxed, not frazzled after a difficult drive down a single-track lane with nowhere to leave the car
- Reasonably flat, suitable land, not a steep hillside or a waterlogged field
- Privacy, a sense of being away from it all, with space to unwind without feeling overlooked
- Beauty, this has to feel like a destination, somewhere worth making the journey for
- Natural cold water, access to a river, lake, or spring-fed pond is the ideal, turning a good sauna session into a full contrast-bathing experience
Finding somewhere that ticks all of those boxes at once is not straightforward. But after a lot of conversations, a lot of reconnaissance drives, and a lot of standing in fields and farmyards imagining what it could look like, I have a shortlist.
Where things stand right now
We are currently in negotiations with a small number of landowners. I am not going to jinx it by saying too much, but there are conversations in progress that feel genuinely promising. If an agreement comes together, Devon Sauna will be launching soon, and the location will, I think, genuinely take your breath away.
Mid Devon deserves this. A place to slow down, warm up, and reconnect — with nature, with friends, and with yourself. That is what Devon Sauna is going to be.
'Mid Devon deserves this. A place to slow down, warm up, and reconnect — with nature, with friends, and with yourself.'
Thank you so much for following along with the journey. Your interest means more than you know, it is what keeps the momentum going on the days when the spreadsheets get a bit much.
Stay warm. More news coming soon.
, Helen