Soul Water Sauna The Pitt — Outdoor Sauna and Cold Plunge in Edinburgh

It was a misty morning in Granton, and as we walked down towards the promenade, I had a brief moment of thinking, oh no.

The outdoor saunas I’d visited before had been in places that were obvious sauna settings, on a sandy beach or tucked away in woodland. Granton felt very different. It was more industrial, with warehouses around us and a pebble beach ahead.

I was probably more nervous because this was my fiancé’s first outdoor sauna. It’s not something he’d ever have thought of trying himself, but he’d agreed to come along and give it a go. I really wanted him to enjoy it.

Then we reached The Pitt.

Discovering Soul Water Sauna The Pitt

Once we reached The Pitt, my first impression quickly changed. Beside the sauna was a colourful mix of converted containers, street food stalls, outdoor seating, a bar and a large indoor warehouse space. It reminded us of places we’d visited in Copenhagen, where old industrial spaces had been turned into places to eat, drink and listen to live music.

We’d arrived early enough to have breakfast and coffee before our sauna session, so we had a wander around first. There was plenty going on, with people walking dogs and cycling along the promenade, music playing and preparations underway for events.

The sauna and cold plunges

The first thing I noticed was how open the sauna area was. From the promenade, we could see people coming out of the saunas, getting into the plunge tubs and cooling off under the showers. It was completely different from the quieter, more secluded sauna setups I’d visited before.

Once we were inside, though, I stopped noticing the people passing by outside. There were two saunas, deep plunge tubs looking out towards the sea, showers and plenty of space to sit between rounds. One of the showers was tucked underneath a big tree, which I particularly liked.

People were moving between the saunas and the plunge tubs, sitting outside and chatting, and we found ourselves talking to other sauna-goers almost straight away.

Our session

Inside the sauna, we were given orange slices, with orange-infused water waiting outside for between rounds. It was a nice little extra, especially once we’d started moving between the heat and cold.

By this point, I was getting more confident with cold plunges. I got straight into one of the tubs and focused on the breathing technique I’d picked up on previous sauna visits. My fiancé’s first attempt was a different story. He took a bit longer to get in, making some very funny noises along the way, while I tried to talk him through the breathing that had helped me. Once he was fully in, though, he was laughing.

For someone who had only come along to try an outdoor sauna because I’d asked him, he was doing pretty well.

Sauna conversations

We found ourselves chatting to people both inside the sauna and between rounds. One conversation was with a mother and daughter who had recently been to Helsinki visiting friends. They told us about the sauna culture there, where sauna is hugely popular and much more a part of everyday life. They’d tried several while they were there, including one where the cold dip option was a hole cut into a frozen lake, with a ladder to lower yourself into the water.

Another sauna had been so hot that they’d had to leave, with some of the regulars telling them to duck down as they made their way out to escape the worst of the heat. Hearing their stories made me realise there was a whole sauna culture beyond the kind of experiences I’d discovered so far, and I wanted to know more about it.

Another conversation introduced us to something neither of us had heard of before. Someone mentioned that Soul Water’s owner was away at the “sauna championships”. We both wondered what on earth a sauna championship involved. What could you possibly compete in?

I didn’t know much about Aufguss at the time, but that conversation stuck with me. A month later, it would lead me to the UK Aufguss Championships in Belfast, where I discovered a completely different side of sauna culture.

My experience at the UK Aufguss Championships

After the session

After our final sauna, we sat outside for a while with herbal tea, drying off and chatting before getting changed. It was a nice way to finish without feeling like we had to rush off as soon as the session ended.

We’d had breakfast and coffee at The Pitt before our session, then went back for lunch afterwards. We’d noticed they also host live music and events, and we both said we’d like to come back when something was on.

How it felt overall

Soul Water turned out to be a great choice for my fiancé’s first outdoor sauna. By this point, I’d started visiting saunas for Wild Sauna Guide and was having a brilliant time discovering them for myself. He’d never have thought of booking an outdoor sauna himself, but after hearing me talk about my visits, he agreed to come along and give one a try.

I really wanted him to enjoy it, and thankfully he did. That first visit certainly wasn’t his last. He now comes along on as many of my sauna trips as he can, and it’s become something we both really enjoy doing together.