Stromness – a Harbour Sauna and a Sea Dip
A few hours.
The route
Sauna Wanna is a wood-fired sauna in a bright orange horse trailer beside Ness Slip, at the south end of Stromness, looking straight out over the harbour as the boats come and go.
Warm up on the redwood benches, take the slip into the sea if you're brave, then wander up the old flagstoned street for a takeaway lunch from Julia's Shed.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is House of the Northern Gate, 24 miles away. Sleeps 18.
Book Sauna Wanna online at least two hours ahead, for a Saturday or Sunday between 10am and 2pm from October to March (weekdays by arrangement, two hours or more): a shared Get Together seat is £12.50 for 50 minutes at the time of writing, private sessions for up to six from £60.
The day
Stromness
Wood-fired heat and a cold sea at the harbour's edge. Then lunch by the ferry terminal at the other end of the town.
About three hours
Sauna Wanna
Sauna Wanna is a converted horse trailer beside Ness Slip on Ness Road, at the south end of Stromness, with the harbour in front of it. From October to March it opens on Saturdays and Sundays, 10am to 2pm, and it can open on a weekday for a booking of two hours or more if you get in touch. Book online at least two hours ahead, as the wood-fired stove takes over an hour to heat from cold. A Get Together seat, shared with up to five others, is £12.50 for 50 minutes at the time of writing, and it runs even if you're the only one booked. Private sessions for up to six are £60 for 50 minutes, or £100 for an hour and 50 minutes with time to dip in the sea between rounds. The changing room is in a second horse trailer beside it, and the slip into the water is a little over 10 steps away. A sea dip is your own choice and your own risk, so go in only if you're a confident swimmer, and never alone. Bring two towels and water, and ask about ages and parking when you book.
3 min by car
Julia's Shed
Lunch
Lunch is from Julia's Shed on Ferry Road, opposite the ferry terminal at the north end of the town, about 3 minutes' drive with free long-stay parking along Ferry Road, or a walk up the old flagstoned main street. It's a takeaway with seats outside, open Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 4.30pm and Sunday from 10am, for hot and cold filled rolls, fresh salad boxes, Orkney crab and hot-cured salmon, cakes baked on the premises and Orkney ice cream. Until its kitchen closes for the winter in November, the Ferry Inn, a couple of minutes' walk away on the harbour front, serves lunch indoors from 12.30pm.
If it rains
The sauna is warm in any weather and its changing room is under cover; on a wet day eat in the Ferry Inn while its kitchen is open, as Julia's Shed is takeaway with seats outside.
Where to stay
Make it a weekend
More days out on Orkney.
Photograph by Marty Pumbien via Google