Gurts Yurt, our sauna yurt. A group of people sitting facing the camera during a sauna aufguss ritual in the only publicly available sauna yurt in the UK.

hot & what?

A bothy in Scotland is a simple shelter out in the wild, somewhere warm and open to anyone who needs it. That's the spirit behind Hot & Bothy, an off grid wood fired sauna and community space at Archerfield Walled Garden in East Lothian, just outside North Berwick and a short drive from Edinburgh.

We run 90 minute sessions in our two wood fired saunas, including Gurt's Yurt, the only publicly available yurt sauna in the UK, alongside cold plunge barrels and a fire pit. We're a British Sauna Society approved operator, and we work closely with experienced sauna masters and Aufguss specialists, because a proper sauna ritual takes real craft, not just a hot room and a bench.

Beyond regular sauna sessions, Hot & Bothy hosts yoga, meditation, sound baths, and seasonal workshops throughout the year. We're always open to collaborating on new events, so if you're planning something that could use some sauna in East Lothian and Edinburgh, get in touch!

A group sitting round the firepit at Hot & Bothy having a chat.

Hot & Bothy started with a simple idea: bring people together through wood fired sauna and cold water therapy in East Lothian.

We've found that a proper sweat, a cold plunge, and an honest conversation outdoors does more for you than most things money can buy.

Our Values

Accessibility for All

Sauna should be for everyone. We’re committed to keeping our prices fair and accessible, because no one should be priced out of the benefits of heat.

We have designed our site to be accessible for those with a disability, with ramps and removable seating, and will always do our upmost to accommodate all users.

Community-Centred

We prioritise shared sessions and local collaboration, creating a space that brings people together. From community nights to wellness events, we aim to make sauna a social experience rooted in connection and care.

Inclusivity & Belonging

We celebrate all genders, sexualities, and identities. Hot & Bothy is an open, welcoming space for everyone. A non-judgmental environment where respect, consent, and kindness come first. We’re committed to creating an environment where people from marginalised communities feel genuinely included and safe to just be. Hot & Bothy is proudly queer-owned.

Body Neutrality

We’re proud to be a body-neutral space. We invite bathers to focus on how their bodies feel and what they can do, not how they look. Our sauna is a non-sexual, respectful environment where all bodies are valued equally.

Illustration of various green trees with different leaf shapes and styles on a black background.
Silhouettes of tall trees against a warm, orange sunset sky, with a few buildings and a small group of people in the foreground.

SUSTAINABLe practices

We are deeply rooted in our connection to nature and are always seeking ways to not only lower our impact on the environment, but enhance it - we are entirely off-grid, and use solar panels to charge our lighting and other electricals. All the products we use to clean the saunas and cold plunges use entirely natural ingredients, and all wastewater from our showers and cold plunges is fed back into the greenery we are planting around our site. We are a no-waste site, and everything we use is composted on-site, from orange peels to our compost toilet. We source FSC certified firewood from sustainable forest projects, as well as burning waste hardwood and off-cuts.