Henley Approves Waterpod Drift Floating Sauna

Something exciting happened at Henley Town Council this week. On Tuesday 9th June, after careful deliberation, the Council voted to approve a one-year pilot of the Drift — our floating sauna — on the Thames at Henley. We're absolutely delighted, and we wanted to share what this means, what we're planning next, and a little bit about why we think the timing couldn't be better.

What was approved?

The Council has given us the green light to bring the Drift to Henley for an initial one-year trial. We're now working to identify the right mooring location — one that's accessible, well-connected to the town, and fits beautifully with Henley's character on the river. Once we've confirmed the site, we'll be adapting our plans and designs to suit it, with the aim of opening later this year.

Cut-away CGI showing the cold plunge baths, changing room and sauna room.

What is the Drift?

The Drift is a sauna boat — designed and built by us here at Waterpod in Berkshire. At 9 metres long and 4 metres wide, it's roughly half the size of the liveaboard narrowboats you'll see moored along the towpath, but we've packed a lot into that footprint.

Step aboard and you'll find a changing and relaxation room, a sauna room kept at a steady 90°C, and a front deck with two cold plunge baths for contrast therapy. It's a complete wellness experience in a compact, considered package — and it's the only commercially available sauna boat designed and built in the UK.

We're also proud that Waterpod is the UK's only certified manufacturer of floating sauna vessels. When you come aboard the Drift, you're stepping onto something that was conceived, engineered, and built in Britain.+

Why now? The sauna wave is here

If you've noticed more people talking about saunas lately, you're not imagining it. The British Sauna Society now counts over 600 public saunas across the UK in 2026 — up from just 45 in January 2023. That's more than a ten-fold increase in three years.

This isn't just a fitness trend. New peer-reviewed research published this year in Social Science and Medicine — the first experimental study into British sauna culture — found that shared sauna rituals significantly boost wellbeing by strengthening social connection, belonging, and emotional synchrony. Intriguingly, the research found that people from lower socio-economic backgrounds reported some of the greatest improvements in how they felt — suggesting that communal sauna bathing could be a powerful, and still under-used, tool for community health and social prescribing.

People are actively looking for ways to socialise, unwind, and take care of themselves that don't revolve around alcohol. The sauna offers exactly that.

This is a movement, not a moment

Floating saunas have been part of everyday life in cities like Oslo and Copenhagen for years. In Norway, the concept of utebad — outdoor bathing — treats access to water as a civic right, not a luxury. Helsinki, Stockholm, and Copenhagen all have thriving waterfront sauna cultures that draw locals and visitors alike in every season.

That culture is arriving in the UK. Dublin launched its first floating sauna just weeks ago, following the council's open call for proposals which attracted 30 applications. Bristol Harbour ran a successful floating sauna trial in 2025 and has been actively seeking permanent operators. Liverpool's Wyld floating sauna secured approval for expansion after just one year, following a hugely positive community response.

Henley's decision this week places the town at the forefront of this movement in the Thames Valley — and we think that's something to be proud of.

For everyone

The Finns have a saying: "everyone is equal in the sauna." That philosophy is at the heart of what we're building.

We want the Drift to be genuinely accessible — to people with disabilities and mobility requirements, to families, to those who've never tried a sauna before, and to serious athletes who already use heat and cold recovery as part of their training. We'll be choosing a mooring location with accessibility firmly in mind, and we're committed to making sure pricing doesn't put the experience out of reach for local people.

Of course, this won’t be for everyone. But for those who are curious, or who already know the benefits, we hope the Drift will offer something genuinely special, right here on the Thames.

A design we're proud of

We care deeply about how the Drift looks and feels in its surroundings. Henley has extraordinary visual character — the river, the regatta, the architecture — and we take that seriously.

Our ambition is for the Drift to make a positive contribution to the town, not just sit alongside it. A floating sauna should be something a place is genuinely proud to have on its waterfront: architecturally considered, beautifully made, and designed to belong.

What's next

We're moving quickly. Over the coming weeks we'll be working with the Council to confirm the right mooring location, finalising our site-specific design, and working through the remaining consents. We'll keep you updated here and on our social channels as things develop.

In the meantime we welcome input feedback - either in the comments below - or by sending us a message.

We can't wait to welcome you to the sauna.

— Tom Luke, Founder, Waterpod