It was while sitting in a floating outdoor sauna in the mouth of a stunning Norwegian fjord that Hannah Mary Goodlad and her husband Callum Scott’s lives changed forever.
So deeply relaxed by the heat and the breathtaking natural scenery surrounding them that the couple knew it was an experience they wanted to replicate back home in Scotland.
“We were sat in this floating sauna in January 2020 just before the world went upside down and I can remember saying to Callum ‘this is fantastic’,” says Hannah Mary.
“The experience was far from the traditional saunas associated with health clubs or gym saunas as it opened you up to nature.
“I thought it would do really well in Scotland.”
Shetland sauna inspired by Scandinavia
Despite the chaos and uncertainty that lockdown brought, the idea of opening up an outdoor sauna in Scotland never left the couple’s minds.
“Lockdowns went from weeks, to months, to years and we kept thinking back to the peace of the Oslo sauna,” says Hannah Mary.
“We were inspired by our Norwegian neighbours across the North Sea, and the thought of bringing authentic sauna culture home to Scotland wouldn’t leave our minds.”
Mobile horsebox sauna
Taking the plunge, Hannah Mary and Callum decided it was now or never and opened up a mobile converted horsebox sauna at Aberdeen Beach.
“We thought a horsebox would be perfect as we both knew a bit of DIY, so after a lot of Googling and scrolling through YouTube we set about doing that,” says Hannah Mary.
“So we gutted out the horsebox and made a beautiful Scandinavian-style portable miniature sauna with space for six people.
“We called the sauna Haar after the name of the fog that rolls off the coast of the North Sea.
“The name is really fundamental as it embodies everything we’re trying to do as when the haar rolls in from the North Sea you long for it to lift and for us the sauna is the lift that we get.”
Outdoor sauna at St Ninian’s Beach, Shetland
After opening Haar Sauna at Aberdeen Beach in December 2021, the couple then took the sauna on a Scottish tour before moving it permanently to St Ninian’s beach in Shetland.
“We took the sauna across Scotland from the Cairngorms to the River Tay,” says Hannah Mary.
“So we did that until October 2023 before taking the decision to relocate it up to Shetland permanently.
“We’re very pleased that we were the first mobile sauna in Scotland.”
Visitors from across the world
With its pristine white sands and crystal-clear water, it’s no surprise that people from around the world are visiting their Shetland-based sauna.
“We couldn’t ask for a better setting than St Ninian’s Beach,” says Hannah Mary.
“People from all over the world from places like Singapore, South Africa, Asia, Hong Kong and the USA are visiting the sauna.
“We were recently named as the UK’s Best Nature Sauna so I think people are recognising that.”
Mental and physical benefits of outdoor saunas
In terms of physical and mental benefits, Hannah Mary says the benefits of outdoor saunas are endless.
“They are great for circulation and also for your joints,” says Hannah Mary.
“Saunas are also really cleansing for your skin and they’re good for your mental wellbeing as it’s a really calm place and all the chatter inside your head just stops.
“You can focus on your breathing and being present.
“I think most people these days will have experienced mental health problems or will know someone who has.
“We’ve found that in our lives, the sauna has really helped us through those tough times when you need a bit of an escape.”
The power of community and nature
For Hannah Mary, who juggles her work in the offshore wind industry with the sauna, and Callum, a primary teacher who is now working full-time in the business, outdoor saunas have the power to unite communities.
“Haar Sauna is grounded in two fundamental values, it’s about nature and it’s about community,” says Hannah Mary.
“So we have mental health sessions for men, we have women-only hours and we provide spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I grew up in Shetland and back then going to a sauna was quite an intimidating experience as it was usually just men, so I really wanted to change that.”
New sauna at Scapa Beach in Orkney
To see the power outdoor saunas have in bringing communities together in countries like Norway and Finland, has inspired Hannah Mary and Callum to expand and to encourage more people to open outdoor saunas.
“We’ll soon be opening a sauna on Scapa Beach in Orkney, just outside of Kirkwall,” says Hannah Mary.
“So we’ll be the only sauna in Scotland to be open in two geographical locations.
“Our mission is to introduce outdoor saunas in a big way across Scotland and to make them more accessible to the hundreds of thousands of folk who live in Scotland along the coast.
“We want to be the national sauna champions.”
For more information check out Haar Sauna on Facebook @HaarSauna, Instagram @haar.sauna and the website haarsauna.com
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