When the house is warm
Four sessions a day, every day of the year except the scrubbing Thursday and the flooded week of 1974, which the house still observes as a holiday.
Every day
| Session | Hours | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Dawn | 6:00 – 9:00 am | Silent swim, fresh steam, the boldest plunge. The honest session. |
| Midday | 11:00 am – 2:00 pm | The family hour, splash-tolerant, floats out at 1:30. |
| Twilight | 5:00 – 8:00 pm | Full steam, lit pool, the liveliest plunge queue. |
| Late | 8:00 – 10:00 pm | Low lamps, Resting Hall first, tea round every half hour. |
Seasons
Winter
December to February the deck steams like a kettle and the plunge queue moves briskly. The boiler keeps 41 °C at source with room to spare; the house reads "room to spare" as a personal challenge every January.
Summer
June to August the Meridian drops to 31 °C on the hottest weeks, the Resting Hall doors open onto the yard, and the dawn session sells out. Book the dawn by the last week of May.
Demonstration: hours and closures are invented for this fictional bathhouse.
Scrubbing Thursdays
Every third Thursday the pools drain for the full scrub, 9 am to noon. Steam runs as usual; bring a book.
The Pools
Cascade, Meridian, Mosaic, Plunge, Resting. In that order.
41 °CThe Water
One spring, honestly described, never sweetened.
Since 1926History
Ottilie Marsh, the ward years, the slow clock.
8 ritualsTreatments
Hands, heat, salt and birch, priced plainly.
ArchiveThe Journal
Longer notes from the stairwell cabinet.
VisitPlan a Visit
Trains, towpaths, punts and what to bring.