Alex James: the farm sauna is a runaway hit Of all the building projects on the farm, the biggest success to date has been the sauna I stuck in the garden shed. It's been a runaway hit with the whole family since the moment we first switched it on. The kids absolutely love it. I read the paper in there every day and come out feeling as fresh as a daisy. It was surprisingly cheap and easy to install. There's nothing to it, really. It's a vapour-proof box with a little heater in the corner. It doesn't cost much to run and it never breaks. The only thing I've ever had to replace is the glass egg timer that tells you how long you've been in there. It fell off the wall. I've always associated steam rooms with twinkly lights and pan pipes. All very nice and relaxing when you're in there, but not quite the ticket. I desperately needed my sauna fix when I woke up this morning, and was slightly disappointed when the hotel said the best place was the steam bath just down the road. But it was a revelation. Strangely, in the place where pan pipes come from, they were playing Nirvana when I sat down inside the glass box. That was a good sign. Then, a man wearing an apron came back and forth laying big bunches of fresh herbs, fruit and spices from the Amazon rainforest on top of the steam generator. He threw the switch and a massive blast of steam released all the essential oils. The steam kept on coming until I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. It was practically a religious experience. I'm still floating as I write. I think I might have found a new use for the greenhouse.