Hackney's Castle Climbing-adjacent quirk factor may soon have some competition. Plans are reportedly underway to bring a community sauna to the Stoke Newington Pumping Station, the handsome Victorian brick building on Clissold Crescent that has long been one of north London's more intriguing bits of industrial heritage.
The idea follows a pattern that's been playing out across the capital and beyond: historic buildings and forgotten spaces given a second life as hot-sauna-and-cold-plunge spots, often run with a communal, book-a-slot ethos rather than a spa-hotel vibe. East London has embraced this faster than most — from Hackney's canalside saunas to pop-ups along the River Lea — so a sauna anchored to a 19th-century pumping station in Stoke Newington fits the neighbourhood perfectly.
The pumping station itself sits a short stroll from Clissold Park, making it an easy add-on to an already good north London day out: a morning in the park, lunch on Church Street's famously independent cafe strip, then a sweat session in a Victorian engine house. Stoke Newington has always punched above its weight for character — it's the sort of place where the community-run approach of a project like this tends to land well.
Details on timings, pricing and exact facilities remain thin while the plans progress, so anyone keen should keep an eye on local listings and the venue's updates. But if it goes ahead, expect the usual community-sauna formula: sessions you book by the slot, a mix of communal heat and cold exposure, and a bring-your-own-towels practicality that keeps prices reasonable compared with a hotel spa.
For travellers, this is another reason to look beyond the usual central London spa circuit. North-east London's sauna scene is quietly becoming a draw in its own right, and combining it with Stoke Newington's markets, pubs and green space makes for a genuinely local day that most visitors never see.