The Barking Bathhouse - Give Yourself A Break

The Barking Bathhouse – Give Yourself A Break

The Barking Bathhouse | Until 16 September | £8 (£2 for Barking & Dagenham Residents), £4 for Events

Those crazies over at CREATE (by crazy we obviously mean fab, just to avoid confusion…) commissioned Something & Son to design and build The Barking Bathhouse which, since the end of July, has been experimenting in the latest design, health and beauty ideas to help people feel happy and relaxed this summer. So when the Olympics got a bit too much for the people of Barking, they had a nice place to go and chill out!

Well, we don’t want the people of Barking hogging all the relaxation for themselves – so if you like the sound of a spa with a bar, where you can sip healthy cocktails under a canopy of growing cucumbers and sunbathe in seaside-inspired pebble bays, this one is probably for you.

Andrew Merritt of Something & Son says:

Ideally relaxation should be an everyday experience and we wanted to design a space that can increase happiness and explore ideas of relaxation in an urban context.

Paul Smyth of Something & Son says:

When you travel the world, some of the best, most memorable experiences can happen in a simple massage hut or bathhouse.

Well, we’re not sure exactly what Paul got up to on his gap year, but I think we get the picture…

So, you’re thinking “This sounds like my cup of detox tea, but where can I find this oasis of massage and treatment rooms, saunas and cold rooms, not to mention the cocktails?”

Well, you can find the Barking Bathhouse right in the centre of Barking (SURPRISE!), just a short walk from the train station. So catch a H&C or District Line tube, or a train from Fenchurch Street. Oh, and if you’re so inclined, you can catch the 238 bus from Stratford. Easy peasy.

So go on, give yourself a break. You deserve it.