Plans submitted for mobile sauna in Lerwick

2 October 2025 10:00

A portable wooden sauna named "Haar Sauna" with a green roof sits on sandy ground, surrounded by a wooden fence. Rolling grassy hills and a clear blue sky are in the background.

One of the Haar saunas at St Ninian's.

PLANNING permission is being sought to site a mobile sauna in Lerwick.

Local company Haar Sauna is looking to locate the sauna – which would be on a trailer – on land at the back of Brevik House, overlooking the sea.

Haar first began with Shetland’s first ‘outdoor’ sauna on the sands at St Ninian’s but it now has a mobile sauna which can be taken to locations around the isles.

This has included outside the Fjara cafe in Lerwick, but there are now plans to have a more permanent base in the town.

A planning document says customers would be able to use parking spaces at the nearby Brevik House building, which remains vacant.

A grassy area bordered by a stone wall runs alongside a paved parking lot on the left and a coastal path on the right, with cloudy skies overhead.

The piece of land where the sauna would be located. Photo: Shetland News

The supporting statement said the company feels its business has “real potential for growth in Shetland and beyond”.

“Callum Scott, the owner of Haar Sauna is proud to support a vibrant community who regularly come together to swim, enjoy the sauna, and support each other,” it added.

“Haar Sauna experiences significant physical and mental health benefits, recognising the positive impact of combining sauna use with sea swimming on overall wellbeing.”

The document adds that the sauna is fully supervised by staff during bookings, while a letter from planning suggests it could host 15 people inside.

At the moment Haar has two saunas – the largest of which can accommodate eight people – at St Ninian’s. It also has the mobile sauna which has gone on tour around Shetland.

Speaking to Shetland News earlier this year, Scott said there were plans to bring in another sauna to St Ninian’s.