As January’s signature gloom and the 4pm descent towards darkness envelops us, the white noise of rain squalls thrum against the tipi canvas.

Sheepskin rugs, laid out in a large circle, suggest a horizontal orientation is preferred in here. Silently, I slip under a blanket, draping an eye mask in place as the unidentifiable rattle of sea shells, chimes and singing bowls join the soundtrack swirling all around.

And all of a sudden, I’m lying slap bang in the middle of a seasonally intemperate Lewis Cubitt Square.

Just outside the tent flaps, steam rises from silhouettes of the behatted and bathing-suited, as they emerge from wooden caravan saunas, then plunge into icy tin baths.

Incongruous scenes, surrounded by office towers - and all the more otherworldly, relaxing and fun for it.

This is the return of Slomo, the centrepiece of King’s Cross’ winter-long Equanimity Festival, which will see 8,000 people drop-in across a five week programme of wellbeing events and hot/cold contrast therapy.

Later, after a convivial group sauna ritual involving much wafting of birch and an enlivening series of ice-cold immersions, I grab a moment with Rob Da Bank who, working with partner Josie, have morphed from party starters (they founded Bestival and Camp Bestival) to sauna champions, breathwork, meditation and sleep advocates.

One of the many intriguing sessions planned for their third - and biggest yet - year in this location is the weekly Slowmo Sleep with Rob Da Bank held every Thursday lunchtime, presenting a chance to unwind for a couple of hours via an epic wintery take on the classic siesta.

“When we started doing all this about five or six years ago, saunas weren’t really the thing,” says Rob. “Back then, it was mostly about sleeping. The whole Slomo angle for me was helping people learn how to sleep better, because there was this epidemic of insomnia and its related issues.”

In the intervening years, the popularity of sauna has exploded across the UK like steam escaping hot coals, with the Da Banks leading the way from their Isle of Wight base. In fact, it is that very popularity that has enabled Robbie’s passion for sleep training to find its way in the rainswept setting of Cubitt Square.

“When we first came to King’s Cross in January 2024, it was novel as there still weren’t that many saunas around here, and now it feels like there are hundreds,” he laughs. “So by introducing a sleeping session to the programme its showing that we’re really about 360 degree wellbeing, not just doing sauna and cold plunge.

“My sessions are partly educational, partly guided breathwork and yoga nidra, which is a deeply relaxing meditation and often people do fall asleep during that, or at least have a little midday nap.”

The idea of purposefully heading over to this location to enjoy a paid-for snooze lunchbreak in a big tent is delicious (and, of course, you’ll also find functional fungi-based teas and snacks at a counter run by Mama Shrooms to refocus you suitably for an afternoon afterglow).

Robbie is a fascinating character, renowned for creative innovating over more than two decades, including throwing the infamous local Sunday Best parties at Chalk Farm’s Lock Tavern, then stepping in to the biggest shoes in music when Radio 1 legend John Peel died and he took on presenting in his hallowed regular weekly slot. (Here’s a time capsule article from that era, written by Dom Phillips, the music journo turned environmental champion who was sadly murdered reporting from Amazon in 2022).

But Slomo can’t actually claim to be the first innovative immersive plunge attraction to have graced the former King’s Cross badlands. That accolade remains with the experimental eco-art project Pond Club, which carved a freshwater meanwhile swimming pool into the pre-development landscape here in 2015. Remember that?

Back on my sheepskin rug in today’s swanky square, under the chequered shadows of the gleaming Meta head office lights, I try to let the sound therapy help me float away. Yet in this dynamic urban setting, its hard for the mind to fully give in.

Memories of so many other times spent in this very spot keep bubbling up; from jumping around watching World Cup matches to exploring an early AI expo at CogX, sinking Welsh beers at the Green Man’s Courtyard festival and listening to flamenco guitars played on a balmy early Summer Sounds stage.

Wellbeing therapies and sheepskin sleep sessions might seem an anathema to all that frenzied entertainment and boozy commerce, but as Da Bank’s own trajectory neatly demonstrates, mindful pursuits sure are the natural evolution of the collective experiences we’ll always want to seek out as humans.

In today’s frenzied world, perhaps what many of us currently desire most from a big ‘main event’, is the chance to catch up on a really decent snooze.

Slomo is at Cubitt Square until 22nd Feb, with new events and sessions announced regularly. Check the website for the wider KX retailers running special events and offers through into March, too.

🔥 Read the Camdenist deep dive into the area’s other sauna hotspots

COMEDY: 😂 Tucked away up a big flight of stairs at King’s Cross Station is a Fuller’s pub located in the fetching Grade I-listed setting of the railway’s former Royal Mail postal sorting office, The Parcel Yard. Not only is it super-convenient for a pint ahead of a journey up North, the brand new KX Comedy Club is about to launch a weekly Saturday night stand-up show there, kicking off on Sat 7th Feb. Pre-booking for the first three shows is now open.

ART: 🫗 Surfacing is the new show from a dynamic collection of artistic talent at Hypha Studios HQ at the foot of Euston Tower. The various works look at questions that rise to the surface of a body of water, as hidden inner worlds emerge. Open now, it runs to 14th Feb, and there’s a special chance to explore drawing in relation to immersive auditory stimuli as Claire Zakiewicz presents a 2-hour drawing through sound workshop on Sun 25th.

DRINK: 🍺+🥧 Parliament Hill’s posh but always-worth-it gastro boozer The Bull & Last is starting a Wednesday Pie & Pint Night, kicking off on Wed 21st Jan in their upstairs dining room.

DANCE: 🩰 The UK’s biggest festival of new choreography, Resolution, continues with at The Place this week with Fin De Fiesta’s Encuentros Flamenco jams on Sat 17th and Kill Your Darling's Pyro, which explores fire from witch trials to club culture on Tues 20th. Festival runs until 25th Feb.

ARTS: 🎨 Euston’s Old Diorama Arts Centre host the 2-week One Roof Festival of homeless arts from next Mon 19th Jan with an invitation to join theatre and storytelling-based workshops, multi-artform collaborations and everything from improv to quickfire coaching to podcasting and yoga, with a focus on arts as activism running throughout.

MUSIC:🎵 Finnish electronic artist Yotto brings his emotionally rich deep house and techno to the epic KOKO main theatre on Sat 24th Jan as part of the ongoing big hitting KOKO Electronic programme.

EAT: 🍔 KERB have announced loads of exciting new bites to try at their Seven Dials Market hub in the former banana warehouse in Covent Garden. First up is a permanent new site for Brick Lane’s cult Hong Kong noodle soup café, HOKO. Then try the capital’s first tortillas bar courtesy of Bask Street Boys, and exciting Mexican specialists Masa complete the newcomer streetfood line-up.

COMEDY: 🎤 Another debut stand-up show is The Grafton Comedy Night with tickets on sale for the first show, Feb 22nd, hosted by MC Keith Farnan, as seen on Live at the Apollo, headliner Esther Manito and supported by Francis Foster and Adam Riley upstairs at The Grafton in Kentish Town.