The People’s Sauna, Kinghorn Loch — Sauna, Sound and a Swim

The People’s Sauna at Kinghorn Loch works on a pay-what-you-can basis, which was one of the things that caught my attention before I visited. There are suggested prices depending on what you can afford, £10 standard, £5 community or supported, or £15 to £20 if you’d like to pay it forward. Nobody is turned away for lack of funds.

The sauna was started by Gilly, who got into saunas at 14 when her parents joined a health club, and later, while living in the US, was influenced by Native American sweat lodge traditions. She’d been paying a lot every month just to use a sauna herself, and wanted something nobody would be priced out of, with no one turned away for lack of funds. The whole setup is properly mobile too. It packs down into her 20 year old Corsa.

I paid £20 for my session, which goes towards helping keep the sauna accessible to people who can’t afford the standard price.

Coffee before the sauna

I booked an ambient sounds session with a few family friends. We met first at The Nest café at the Ecology Centre, up the hill from the loch with a clear view across the water. The café itself runs on produce from the Centre’s own community garden, along with local businesses and FareShare, a food redistribution charity.

Down at the loch

Walking down towards the sauna, I was struck by how much was growing around the loch. There were different plants, trees and flowers around the water, with ducks of different breeds resting along the edge alongside a few swans, completely unfazed by people nearby.

The loch sits within the Ecology Centre’s site, a community owned charity that’s been running for over 20 years, and holds 430 different species across 11 habitat types packed into five hectares, including 156 plants, 35 birds and 81 types of butterfly and moth.

The loch itself was peaceful. The water wasn’t crystal clear, but it didn’t really matter, sitting beside it, surrounded by all the greenery and wildlife, was part of what made the setting so lovely.

The sauna tent

The sauna is a pop-up tent, and I wasn’t sure how hot it would get. It gets properly hot.

Inside, there’s a wood-burning stove with benches around the sides and room for up to eight people. As people came and went, the door would let some of the heat out, but with plenty of logs on the stove it heated back up surprisingly quickly.

Ambient sounds

Gilly played a continuous stream of calm, meditative music through a speaker inside the tent, while birdsong came through from outside.

At times the music was all you really noticed. Then you’d hear birds singing outside through the tent as well. The rest of the space was quiet, with people sometimes chatting softly and other times sitting in silence. Neither felt awkward.

I really liked it. Music can change the atmosphere of a room or lift your mood, and in the sauna it did the same thing. The heat, the music and the sounds coming in from outside made the whole session feel more immersive than a sauna on its own.

Into the loch

After the first round, we headed down to the loch and got in using the ladder a short walk from the sauna. It’s shallow enough to stand, even for me at 5’1″, but deep enough to swim properly too. I stayed in for a quick swim before getting back out. A couple of paddleboarders passed by while I was in.

There are small stones underfoot and the ground is uneven in places, with some slippery patches of algae. There was also a bit of bird mess around the edges of the loch, so I’d definitely recommend wearing sandals or water shoes for walking to and from the water as well as for getting in.

I went in barefoot for my first dip and managed fine, but used sandals for the last one. That time I used the ramp beside the sauna, which lets you walk into the water gradually rather than stepping straight down. There’s also a small outdoor shower between the sauna and the loch, useful after a dip.

Small details

Gilly brought out orange slices and grapes, along with cucumber-infused water. There was a mat outside the sauna too, useful if you wanted to sit for a little longer before going back in.

Would I go back

I’d go back. I’d like to try the sound bath next time and take my fiance along too. We’d take his paddleboard with us and make more of a day of it, with food at the café, time in the sauna, a swim, and a paddle on the loch.