Picture it; you’re in a steaming hot sauna in the middle of a forest on the shores of a beautiful lake, looking out at the ripples of soft waves as they bounce around playfully. You’re surrounded by nature and all the good things in life.
It rains and your senses are heightened in a hot, comfortable sauna and you don’t want to be anywhere else in the world.
This is the stuff that dreams are made of – we know, but you no longer need to rely on dreams to take you to that idyllic place. Just hop in the car and make your way to The Sauna Society, on the shores of Lough Ennell, at Tudenham, Mullingar.
This five-star experience of a traditional wood fired Finnish sauna will make you want to keep visiting again and again.
The first of its kind in Westmeath, founders Jen and Ian knew they found the right place for their project of passion when they discovered Tudenham. It wasn’t long before their custom built sauna, office, wood shed and changing rooms were up and running.
Speaking to Topic about their venture, Monaghan-native Ian said Tudenham was the perfect location for The Sauna Society.
“We looked at other places but when we landed down to Lough Ennell we just knew it was the perfect place for us. That coupled with the fact that it is the ‘Lake County’ which has an inherent culture of cold water swimming by a great community of people who use the lakes year round – we thought this was a great starting point for our idea”.
From its inception, Jen, who is from between Streete and Granard, and Ian wanted to keep as much of their business as local as possible.
They were delighted to have Mick Dunne as their carpenter and with the help from Eamon, Enda and Geraldine from Lough Ennell Caravan Park, it all came to life . All their wood for the sauna is locally sourced from Mick Lynch. They have one local staff member working with them, John and are aiming to add to the team over the coming weeks. They also have a long list of plans to liaise with local businesses and sports groups to promote the benefits of sauna use, particularly amongst sports persons.
The Sauna Society is operating full days every Saturday and Sunday and have now expanded to evenings from 4.30pm onwards on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays during the summer.
These hours may expand again during the summer so please visit their website to confirm hours. The summer timetable will come into effect in the coming days, offering more opening days and times. All you need to bring to enjoy the comfort of the sauna is a towel, your swimwear, flip flops, and a large bottle of water which you are encouraged to drink to keep hydrated.
You may be in the middle of the woods but there are great facilities available at The Sauna Society. They have two cosy wooden changing rooms, there is ample parking facilities and there’s a nearby cafe (Lis Cafe) and caravan park (Lough Ennell Caravan Park) who Ian says are “great neighbours to have”.
The sauna holds six persons comfortably per session, however it can accommodate 10 persons in total and groups would usually avail of this space for group bookings.
The cost for this luxury is just €15 for 30 minutes use of the sauna per person and your choice of two plunge pools or the beautiful lake.
Booking is advised via email, online, Facebook or Instagram.
