Stage 1 of 4
Heat
85°°C
12 minutes
Let the heat come to you. Leave a minute before it starts to ask anything of you.
An hour of nothing.
A members’ bathhouse in the old pumping station at Saltmere Point.
Today’s water Read at the pool edge at seven this morning
- Thermal
- 38°
- Plunge
- 9°
- Sea
- 12°
The ritualHeat, cold, salt, rest. Then again, if you like.
There is an order to the rooms. Nobody will hurry you through it.
Stage 2 of 4
Cold
9°°C
1 minute
Step down slowly. Breathe out as the water reaches your shoulders.
Stage 3 of 4
Salt
21°°C
15 minutes
Dry, still air and salt raked from the pans below the point. Your skin settles; so does the rest of you.
Stage 4 of 4
Rest
24°°C
As long as you like
Sit by the window and watch the weather come in off the water.
Six rooms, one temperature at a time.
Every room is posted with its reading by the door, checked each morning before we open.
The six rooms by temperature, coldest to hottest
-
Water38° degrees Celsius
Thermal bath
- Depth
- 1.2 m
- Stay
- 20 min
The long pool in the old engine pit, under the stone vaults that once carried the beam engines. Warm enough to stay, still enough to hear the rain.
-
Water9° degrees Celsius
Cold plunge
- Depth
- 1.4 m
- Stay
- 1 min
Stone steps into water drawn from the old well. One minute is plenty; thirty seconds is fine.
-
Air85° degrees Celsius
Sauna
- Humidity
- 15%
- Stay
- 12 min
Spruce benches on three levels and a wood-fired stove. A ladle of water every quarter hour, never more.
-
Air45° degrees Celsius
Steam room
- Humidity
- 100%
- Stay
- 15 min
A stone trough runs the length of the room and the steam rises off it slowly. You will not see far.
-
Air21° degrees Celsius
Salt room
- Humidity
- 40%
- Stay
- 15 min
The walls grow a crust of salt from the pans below the point; the floor is raked smooth each morning. Dry, quiet and lit low.
-
Air24° degrees Celsius
Quiet hall
- Seats
- 18 daybeds
- Stay
- No limit
Daybeds, wool blankets and the tall windows. People read, or sleep, or do neither.
The buildingIt was built to move water. It still does.
Then 1887
The engine house
The Saltmere Point pumping station lifted fresh water to the town for seventy-four years. Two steam engines worked in the hall beneath the tall windows until the mains came in 1961 and the doors were closed.
Now 2026
The bath hall
We kept the brick, the iron and the windows, and put the water back. The thermal bath sits in the old engine pit; the cold plunge is fed from the original well.
- Built
- 1887
- Closed
- 1961
- Reopened
- 2026
- Windows
- 9.5 m tall
- £38 Day visit, per visit
- Most members choose this £96 Membership, per month
- £1,050 Founding membership, per year
Come once, or come every week.
Prices include every room, towels, a robe and a locker. There is nothing to add at the desk.
-
Most members choose this
Membership
£96 per month
Unlimited visits, up to three hours each, seven days a week.
Included
- All six rooms, every day
- Towels, robe and your own locker
- Two guest passes a year
- Book up to 28 days ahead
The small print
- Minimum term three months.
- Then cancel with one month’s notice.
-
Day visit
£38 per visit
Three hours in the bathhouse, any day we are open.
Included
- All six rooms
- Towels, robe and locker
- Tea in the quiet hall
The small print
- Book up to 14 days ahead.
- Free to move until 24 hours before.
-
Founding membership
£1,050 per year
Everything in Membership, paid once a year, and the early hour.
Included
- Everything in Membership
- Members-only early hour, 06:00 to 07:00
- Six guest passes a year
- Your name on the founders’ board
The small print
- Paid annually; refundable in full within 14 days.
- Limited to 200 founding members.
Opening hours and this week’s tides
High water today 09:48
Friday. Open 07:00 to 22:00; the second high is at 22:12, low water at 03:35 and 16:00.
| Day | Open | Close | High water | Low water |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 07:00 | 22:00 | 06:2818:52 | 00:1512:40 |
| Tuesday | 07:00 | 22:00 | 07:1819:42 | 01:0513:30 |
| Wednesday | 07:00 | 22:00 | 08:0820:32 | 01:5514:20 |
| Thursday | 07:00 | 22:00 | 08:5821:22 | 02:4515:10 |
| Friday | 07:00 | 22:00 | 09:4822:12 | 03:3516:00 |
| Saturday | 08:00 | 21:00 | 10:3823:02 | 04:2516:50 |
| Sunday | 08:00 | 21:00 | 11:2823:52 | 05:1517:40 |
Last entry ninety minutes before close. The sea door to the shore opens when the tide is out.
The quiet rules
- Phones stay in the locker.
- Speak softly in the hall, or not at all.
- Shower before every room.
- Leave the ladle where you found it.
- Under-sixteens come with an adult, and on weekend mornings only.
What to bring
- A swimsuit.
- Flip-flops, if you have them. We lend them if you do not.
- A water bottle. There is a tap by every room.
- Nothing else. Towels, robes and soap are here.
Book a first visit
Come and do nothing for an hour.
Tell us when suits you. We will reply within a day with a time, and everything you need to know before you arrive.