The House

The entrance hall of the wellhouse, lime plaster and stone

A Building That Asks Nothing Of You.

We spent a year looking for a space where it is easy to stop moving, and then four more making it easier. There is no clock in any room you sit in. The rest of this page is the detail.

The Circuit.

BOOK THE CIRCUIT

The Warm Room: Cedar, 85°C, dry8–12 minutes; A twelve-seat cedar sauna with a low bench for people who find the top bench too much. Water on the stones every twenty minutes, poured by whoever is nearest.
The Steam: Mineral vapour, 45°C, saturated5–8 minutes; Tiled, dim, and deliberately too humid to see clearly across. The vapour is dosed from the same tincture sold on the shelf.
The Cold Well: 10°C, chest-deep20–90 seconds; Four steps down, chest-deep, cold enough to catch your breath. The whole skill is letting the breath settle while you are still in it.
The Rinse: Rain heads, warm to coolAs long as you like; Six open rain heads under a stone ceiling, warm at the wall end and cool at the window end. The transition between rounds happens here more than anywhere else.
The Long Bench: 24°C, no clock15–20 minutes; Nine metres of warm bench under a low window, with tea at one end and nothing to do at the other. This is where the circuit actually works.