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A timber sauna cabin with a stovepipe chimney stands on a grassy hillside beside a drystone wall, deck chairs alongside, at Stravaig Saunas
Aberdeenshire

Stravaig Saunas

A wood-fired timber sauna on a hillside in Royal Deeside, near Ballater, with hour-long sessions and a view over the Dee valley, made by a local joinery firm.

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Welcome

On a green hillside above the Dee, near Ballater, a small timber cabin sits on its own trailer, a thin plume of woodsmoke rising from its chimney.

This is the Stravaig sauna, and inside, on pale wooden benches beside a crackling stove, you can sit in the heat and look out through a wide window over the woods and hills of Royal Deeside.

It is the work of Deeside Timber Crafts, a small joinery firm set up near Ballater and Braemar in 2019, who built their first sauna in 2023. They run one-hour sessions at their base, and the sauna is mobile, so it can also be hired to come to your home, an event or a wedding. They build saunas to order too.

Between rounds of heat there is a copper outdoor shower, cold water and fresh Highland air, with the valley spread out below. Stravaig is a Scots word for a wander, and it is a fine place to end one.

Before you go

Sessions last an hour and are booked through Stravaig's own site; the sauna can also be hired to come to you.

Bring a towel and swimwear, and allow time to cool off under the outdoor shower.

Where
Their base in Royal Deeside, near Ballater, AB35 5UJ.
Sessions
One hour, booked ahead.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
9am–5pm
Tuesday
9am–5pm
Wednesday
9am–5pm
Thursday
9am–5pm
Friday
9am–5pm
Saturday
9am–5pm
Sunday
9am–5pm

Did you know

A circular Stravaig Saunas sign mounted on the timber cladding beside a window
Did you know

Joiners first.

Stravaig was started by Deeside Timber Crafts, a joinery firm near Ballater, in 2023.

A turreted stone building nestled among autumn-coloured trees, hills rising behind
Did you know

A sauna on wheels.

The Stravaig sauna is mobile and can be hired for homes, events and weddings.

Slatted wooden benches line a sauna beside a black stove, a bucket and ladle set nearby, at Stravaig Saunas
Did you know

Wood-fired.

The sauna is heated by its own wood-burning stove.

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Where it is

On a hillside in Royal Deeside near Ballater, looking over the Dee valley.

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