Sea swim group Dawnstalkers' new sauna at Penarth seafront

Trust me, this isn’t just another heartless advertisement with no belief behind the cause, because we (I) went and did it!

One of the Vale's, and in fact Wales’, most famous sea swimming groups, the Dawnstalkers, are wanting to install a permanent wood fired sauna beside Penarth Pier to complement their wellness campaign.

The benefits of sea swimming are well documented, including reducing stress levels and being energising, as well as a bit of exercise.

One of the Dawnstalkers founders, Grant Zehetmayr, said for him swimming at Penarth Pier has become a ritual.

“It’s a pillar of my day,” said Mr Zehetmayr. “I use it as part of my daily practice. I find it meditative, therapeutic, it grounds me and it helps me feel less stressed.”

The Dawnstalkers want to install a sauna at the seafront the community can use (Image: Newsquest)

Watch the video below and see what the Dawnstalkers' sauna is like

The wood fired sauna, which cost around £18,000, can reach temperatures of 70 degrees plus (Image: Newsquest)

The Dawnstalkers want to provide the sauna for the community (Image: Newsquest)

With that, we had to try it out (excuse the photos, but there had to be proof I dived into the sea at Penarth Pier four days before Christmas…).

Taking off our shoes and dipping them into the tray of water before stepping inside, we went and sat in the wood-fired sauna, which takes around an hour to heat up before reaching temperatures of as much as 70 degrees.

After that we stepped out, ran down the slip way, and, with a lot of inhaling, exhaling, and a few expletives that Newsquest policy dictates can’t be included in articles, we dived in the sea.

I would like to say I was in for a “good few lengths”, however after between three and four breaststrokes (I lost count) I waded out the water and ran back to the sauna to heat up.

It was an exhilarating experience and I did feel energised after it.

I tried the sauna with my buddy for the event Valerie Greer (Image: Newsquest)

Watch the video below as we jump into the sea!

Yes that's me walking into the sea in December (Image: Newsquest)

Proof that I swam in the sea in December! (Image: Newsquest)

The sauna cost a cool £18,000 and was bought by Mr Zehetmayr with a consortium of fellow Dawnstalkers.

They hope it will become a permanent addition to Penarth’s seafront with support of the Vale Council and are currently at the experimental stage, finding out what local people and fellow water sports operations in the area think.

If it gets up and running, pricing would be around £15 for an hour with the sauna able to fit eight to ten at a time.

Inside the sauna (Image: Newsquest)

You can book to use it as part of the pilot scheme which runs to Jan 1 (Image: Newsquest)

Why not donate some wood to help keep the fire going? (Image: Newsquest)

Read more:

• Penarth Dawnstalker founder got mouthful of sewage in swim
• Penarth pier taken over by Surfers Against Sewage in protest

Mr Zehetmayr added: “I believe people will benefit from it being here.

“The Vale Council have output for wellbeing targets and this ticks the boxes.

“It also might take away another barrier for people to get involved with swimming in the sea if they know they can jump into a sauna straight after.”

The sauna in place NOW until January 1.

It will be fired up at 6.30am every morning so the Dawnstalker can use it at sunrise, then open for community booking from 9-11am via the link: https://calendly.com/hot2coldsaunaco/xmas-seafront-sauna-session.

It can also be opened at other times on request, just drop an email (DS volunteers will need to be onsite as sauna operators).

As this is currently pilot run, there is no charge to use the sauna, but there is an option to donate via patreon, or bring some wood to donate for the fire (see details in description of the booking link).