Jura – a Horsebox Sauna on Corran Sands
A day.
The route
Bothan Jura's wood-fired sauna is a converted horsebox that pops up around the island, most often at the top of Corran Sands with the Paps of Jura behind it and the sea a short run away.
Cross from Islay on the little car ferry, have lunch in Craighouse, then spend an hour in the heat with no more than five people. It's an afternoon for anyone on Islay or Jura who doesn't mind cold water.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
None of ours is close by: the nearest is The Hollies, 26 miles away. Sleeps 18.
Book a session at Bothan Jura Wild Sauna online, a week ahead (Wednesdays and Fridays 3pm to 7pm, Sundays 10am to 1pm), £15 a head at the time of writing, and check where the sauna is that day; for a 3pm session, take a midday ferry from Port Askaig, and be back at Feolin before the 6.30pm sailing from Port Askaig (Monday to Saturday).
The day
Jura
A five-minute crossing, a quiet island road, lunch by the bay, and an hour of wood-fired heat with the sea at the door.
About five and a half hours from Port Askaig
Jura Ferry, Port Askaig to Feolin
The Jura ferry is Argyll and Bute Council's small car ferry across the Sound of Islay from Port Askaig to Feolin. It's turn up and go: be on the pier 10 minutes before it sails, and pay online, on the Jura Ferry app or to the deckhand by card or cash. From Monday to Saturday it leaves Port Askaig from 6.15am until the last sailing at 6.30pm, 16 sailings a day. On Sundays it sails at 8.30am, 10.30am, 2pm, 3.15pm, 4.30pm and 6.30pm on the winter timetable (from 19 October to 25 March), and the 8.30am and 6.30pm must be booked by noon the day before on 01496 840681. The boat turns straight round at Feolin, so coming back, be at Feolin before its departure time from Port Askaig. There are public toilets at the Feolin slip.
17 min by car
The Antlers
Lunch
Drive about 17 minutes from Feolin round to Craighouse, Jura's main village, for lunch at the Antlers Bakehouse and Bar. It usually opens Tuesday to Friday from 10.30am to 4pm and Saturday from 11.30am to 4pm, with Friday suppers too. It posts its hours on its Facebook page, so check there first, especially in winter; those hours don't include Sundays or Mondays. There are tables on its deck looking over the bay. If it's shut, the Jura Hotel in the village has a pub; check with the hotel that it's serving.
10 min by car
Bothan Jura Wild Sauna
Bothan Jura's sauna is a converted horsebox with cedar benches and a wood stove, and it moves round the island. It's currently beside the airstrip at Big Corran, about 10 minutes' drive north of Craighouse at the top of Corran Sands, so check where it is when you book. Regular sessions run on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3pm to 7pm and Sundays from 10am to 1pm, an hour each, with five people at most, for £15 a head at the time of writing; they're bookable online a week ahead. Arrive 5 minutes early and come ready, as there's nowhere to change: wear your swimming costume, and bring water and a towel to sit on. Cool off in the sea, 7°C in winter and 14°C in summer, or in the river if you'd rather have fresh water. The drive back to Feolin is the same road, about half an hour, and the last ferry leaves Port Askaig at 6.30pm, so on a Wednesday or Friday book an early session.
If it rains
The sauna is warm in any weather and lunch is indoors; the ferry has a text alert service for delays and cancellations.
The Jura Hotel Restaurant, a restaurant in Craighouse.
Photograph by Bothan Jura Wild Sauna via Google