Canty Bay – A Clifftop Sauna Facing the Bass Rock
A few hours.
The route
Escape Sauna stands on the clifftop at Canty Bay, two miles east of North Berwick, beside Drift, the café built from shipping containers.
One sauna looks over the bay and the other has a view of the Bass Rock, with a cold plunge outside for between rounds. Afterwards, brunch is a few steps away at Drift, with the same sea through its big windows.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book a session at Escape Sauna on its website before you go: a seat in an open session, the Bay privately for up to five, or the Bass by booking all four of its seats; an open seat is refunded in full only with 72 hours' notice.
Book a table inside at Drift on its website for brunch after the sauna (food 9.30am to 3pm every day); ask for a Window Table Sea View, and walk-ins are welcome when there is room.
The day
Canty Bay
A morning of heat and cold on the clifftop: about an hour in a sauna with a view of the bay and the Bass Rock and a cold plunge between rounds, then brunch at Drift next door.
About two and a half hours
Escape Sauna
Escape Sauna is on the clifftop at Drift, off the A198 at Canty Bay. Park in Drift's car park, where the sauna stands; the 120 bus stops at Drift too. The Bay sauna is wood-fired and looks over the bay, and the Bass is electric, with a view of the Bass Rock; a cold plunge waits outside for between rounds. In autumn and winter it runs Thursday from noon and Friday to Sunday from 10am, with the last session at 5.30pm. A seat in an open session is £16.50, or take the Bay privately for up to five, or the Bass by booking all four of its seats. A session lasts about an hour, changing included, and the heat sits at about 65 to 80°C. Bring a swimming costume, flip-flops and two towels. Seats are booked by over-18s, and 12- to 18-year-olds come with an adult. Afterwards, Drift serves brunch and lunch from 9.30am to 3pm every day, and coffee and cake until 4pm, with the Bass Rock through its big windows.
If it rains
Both saunas are heated cabins and Drift's tables are inside behind big windows; only the cold plunge and the few steps between are out in the weather.
Drift, a café in North Berwick.
Make it a weekend
More days out in East Lothian.
Photograph by Małgorzata Stasiulewicz via Google
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