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Up to eight people for 65-minute sessions. If you are pregnant or have any underlying health problems, please seek advice from your doctor before booking. Listen to your body, take lots of breaks, and keep hydrated. Anyone under the age of 16 using the sauna must be accompanied by an adult. We regret that children under the age of 13 are not permitted to use the sauna during a private session but please look out for our family sauna offerings in the future. Remember to sign our waiver form before arriving for your session. By using the sauna you are agreeing to the terms and conditions of the waiver so it is important to read it and sign it before you come.

Yes, for comfort and safety this is really the most that can comfortably use our sauna at a time, however, if you have a larger group, you may be able to book two sessions back-to-back and cycle through the sauna and plunge areas (particularly if you also book our alfresco gathering space) so that you can all enjoy the experience together.

Absolutely! We highly recommend it! And many people do. It’s a rare treat to find yourself with some time to think (or not think!) and bathe in nature, heat and cold to leave feeling like your batteries are fully recharged.

Definitely - this is our most common type of sauna experience. Though the maximum is 8 at one time, a couple or small group experience is particularly wonderful.

Please email Tamara on tamara@theforestsauna.com

You can reschedule or cancel your booking yourself via our system up to 48 hours before. After this time – no refunds are given. We regret that we can't give a refund or credit if less than 48hrs notice is given. We do not refund ‘no shows’. If closed due to any reason of our own, a full refund or credit will be given at any time. In the event that we cancel a booking, you will be notified by email / mobile and refunded / credited. Please note that The Forest Sauna reserves the right to refuse admission to intoxicated persons or for other reasons that may be deemed a health and safety risk. Refunds will not be offered to anyone refused admission on these or similar grounds.

You don’t need much! We recommend bringing two towels (one to sit on and one to dry with), swimwear and a filled water bottle, as well as, for the winter months, a dryrobe or something warm to change back into after the experience. A changing area and cupboards to store small amounts of possessions in adverse weather is provided.

The turning for Happy River Retreat is directly opposite a red post box outside The Silent Woman Pub. You will see a wooden sign that says ‘Happy River’ nailed to the tree. Turn in to a farm track and go a short way until you see a swing up to the left into a car park. Free parking at Happy River Retreat is provided for the duration of your sauna visit but regrettably not beyond – so if you are planning on a walk in the forest or similar, please relocate your car to the Sika Trail car park which is a public space a few hundred yards up the road from us and also has access to the beautiful Wareham Forest. All instructions will be provided in your booking email. Please wait in the car park to be greeted by a member of the Forest Sauna team. If you don’t see anyone, please message 07855 323937.

You will be able to leave a small amount of belongings in the changing area at your own risk. Any overflow of items that don't fit in the changing room will need to be left outside. We recommend travelling light and leaving anything you don’t need safely locked in your car.

Check out our how it works and health benefits section.

We understand that life happens! So our booking system allows you to reschedule yourself, up to 48 hours before your sauna. Click the 'My bookings' tab in the footer of the website. If there is less than 48 hours before your sauna, we regret that we cannot reschedule. You can reschedule a maximum of two times. If you would like to cancel, please see our cancellation terms and if you are within the terms you will be able to cancel your booking yourself.

Gift Cards are valid for nine months and we recommend that you make a note in your diary to be sure to use your Gift Card before its expiry date. We regret that if a Gift Card is not redeemed within this timeframe, it is no longer valid and cannot be transferred/exchanged.

Just input your code at checkout and your discount, if still valid, will automatically be applied.

At the moment we ask all our guests to wear swimwear. Please watch this space however, as we are planning to run some naturist sessions during our event calendar in 2025.

No. Food and sauna and/or alcohol and sauna do not mix! Please save all your savouries, sweets and treats for before or after your experience. You are welcome to take your water bottle into the sauna but please bear in mind that it does get very hot in there - warming up every item that goes in so metal water bottles are not recommended and plastic ones may also suffer from the heat. The best idea is to rehydrate when you come out of the sauna for a break.

Only if you want to experience red hot earrings! We ask that you remove all jewellery, watches and anything that could heat up and cause you discomfort/injury. Due to it being a wild space we suggest you take it off and store it somewhere safe before your visit to minimise the risk of anything getting lost.

For an authentic experience, customers can manage the 'löyly' (the steam that rises from the sauna stove), allowing control of humidity and intensity. Adding water over the rocks humidifies the session and is one of the best aspects of a wood-fired sauna. However, please remember not to dump water on the rocks; instead, gently drizzle water on with a ladle intermittently, until the heat reaches an appropriate level. Please be aware that the handle of the ladle (and everything else in the sauna!) gets hot. Please take care and we recommend using the glove.

Please email us if you think you lost/left something behind at the Forest Sauna. We keep items for a maximum of one month and then we donate them to charity.

Sufficient sauna ventilation is one of the most integral aspects of an authentic Finnish sauna. A constant source of fresh air ensures the hot air is well circulated and used air removed before it becomes stagnant. For your safety, our sauna and changing room are also fully ventilated and cleaned between each group to ensure fresh air quality. If you or anyone in your party isn’t feeling 100% we ask that you show kindness to others and yourself by not joining the session and postponing to another time. Wherever possible for individuals we will try to find you an alternative session (though we unfortunately can’t cancel a private group session for one participant).