Interview with Mike Fletcher of Pool Bridge Farm…

…telling us about him experiences of purchasing a Yorkshire Hut Co. sauna and the benefits of sauna and contrast therapy.

Pennie Lordan- Yorkshire Hut Co: We're thrilled to have been, you know, part of this making this outdoor sauna for you, and Willow Tree sauna one and the new one, the surprise one that's to be open soon. Would you be happy to tell us bit about what led you to choose the Yorkshire hut Co. to make your custom outdoor sauna?

Mike Fletcher - Pool Bridge Farm: Yeah, well we'd got a sauna before I knew that you were making them. We got one imported from, I believe it was Estonia, and compared to your saunas, now, I'm not just saying here because your sat in the room, they just aren't as good. There's just nowhere near as good.

And the difference between a local company and somebody in Estonia it's that ability to speak to a human and it's just a better product. The customer service is so much better. Being able to develop something together.

So there's, there's a whole host of reasons why I think it's so much more beneficial for us to always go local, and it's the sustainability. We're not shipping something around the world and I think it's just a better product than we had before. And it's, yeah, it's just a better way of doing business.

Pennie Lordan - Yorkshire Hut Co: What do you think about the craftmanship of your Yorkshire Hut Co. saunas?

Mike Fletcher - Pool Bridge Farm: So I think the key thing is being able to work together and the progression and go well, actually, that one worked really well, can we put skylights in the next one for example. It's the ability to work together, to communicate and make things better. I mean I don't like Kevin, but he's really good.

So, yeah, I would obviously highly recommend you guys of course I would, I don't want to recommend you too much, because then I'll never be able to get another one built. But I think the thing that I like most about the craftsmanship is I have something to compare it to. I built a sauna that our very first one. We then bought one, and then we have your two. Now, mine is rustic, you know, it's got a certain charm about it. We then had one that that was imported and the design, as much as it's okay for people to sit in and have a sauna, it's a shockingly bad design. So to be able to then take, you know, our collective brains and you guys created that first one, and everyone went, Oh, my God, this is amazing. And then we went back and went, how can we make this even better? And we said, well, can we put skylights in it and you said we can do anything you want. So, we've got skylights and we've got this amazing light. You can see the stars in here. And then to suggest, why don't we raise the benches slightly, because that will give us a better experience. Why don't we lower the viewing window so it gives a better view? So all these things that are done with the knowledge of being sauna users, being able to build it and just make anything happen to the absolute highest standard, it doesn't get any better.

Pennie Lordan - Yorkshire Hut Co: Brilliant. Thank you and thank you for choosing us. Are there any stories you'd like to share of people's experiences and the benefits that they've noticed from having saunas here and the sauna and cold plunge experience together.

Mike Fletcher - Pool Bridge Farm: So I have incredibly bad Reynaud’s, so if I get cold, or if my core gets cold, my hands halfway down my palms go white. My feet do it too and it hurts, it's awful. I think Pool Bridge Farm is biggest inland wild swimming venue in the country, and I can't do it unless I have a sauna. Now I'm in five times a week and I sleep better, my moods better, my health seems better, my resting heart rate is better, everything is is better. I going into the water, I get the benefits from my endorphins being raised and it helps me. And I know when I finished having that plunge, and I come and warm up in here for seven, eight minutes afterwards and I have no pain in my hands. I have no pain in my legs and I can have that social experience of of getting into the water with people and I can do it without painful hands, and it's amazing.

And there's so many other people, so many stories of people enjoying the benefits, especially in winter. And it’s a great gateway into getting into wild swimming as it makes it more accessible. If you're driving an hour here, and you're going to be in the water two or three minutes if you’re not used to it, it's a long way to drive for two minutes of cold water swimming. If you come for sauna, you're doing it four or five times. So you're getting four or five hits of dopamine. You’re getting this heart CV workout as well. And there's obviously the benefits that saunas may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. I mean, I'm going to live forever!

Pennie Lordan - Yorkshire Hut Co: Haha Excellent. Would you like to share a bit about Pool Bridge Farm for anyone who hasn’t heard of you or been here yet?

Mike Fletcher - Pool Bridge Farm: So our big lake is the Q lake and in Summer, this is for families. And it is glorious in Summer, because you've just got families without mobile phones, without tablets, without screen time, being families, splashing, playing with kids being kids, it's gorgeous. Not everybody wants to come to the family lake where there's laughter and there’s splashing, so we've then got the other three lakes which are a lot quieter in Summer and the Q lake is still quiet until 10 o'clock in the morning. So if you want just a tranquil swim, then we have have those three lakes as well.

In winter especially, as I said, sauna for me is absolutely the way forward. You can bring a friend, have a sauna, go and have a bit to eat in the cafe afterwards . And if you're traveling we have the campsite which if you're swimming, it’s really cheap for camping, so we've tried to stop non swimmers coming here so it makes it a destination venue for swimmers. We have so many lone female campers coming because it's safe here, we don't have groups of lads coming here. I think we're about 85% women and I think that goes up to about 97% in the winter so we make sure that the place is safe.

Pennie Lordan - Yorkshire Hut Co: As a regular user, there is that feeling that people are just really friendly and very the place is very welcoming.

Mike Fletcher - Pool Bridge Farm: Yeah, the community is really special. You can kind of just be on your own if you want that, but there's always somebody that will help you out if you need you.

Pennie Lordan - Yorkshire Hut Co: If you could sum up the experience that you wanted every guest to have at Pool Bridge Farm in a few words, what might that be?

Mike Fletcher - Pool Bridge Farm: Connectivity. I think families playing together. I think there's something special that you don't get that often or as much anymore. And it's that simplicity. It's, you know, it's a it's an affordable day out. You know, you can spend all day here. You don't have to drive to the coast. You don't have to get sand in your sandwiches you can bring yourring your picnic. So I think that connects. Activity of family for this one, and I think for the other one, it's a peace and tranquility,

Pennie Lordan - Yorkshire Hut Co: Brilliant. Yeah, that says it all. Thank you so much.

Mike Fletcher - Pool Bridge Farm: Thank you

A huge thanks to Mike Fletcher and all at Pool Bridge Farm www.poolbridgefarm.com