Californian Rachel Cole-Wilkin was used to free access to public toilets at home in the States. When she moved from San Francisco to the United Kingdom to pursue a theatre career, however, she was much annoyed to discover that one had to pay to use public loos.
This inspired her to hunt down the public toilets of the British capital, an obsession which later turned into a tour business in 2012 called Loo Tours – yes, she takes people on tours to toilets around London.
There are various tours on offer from this all-female-led tour group, including Rachel’s San-Fran bud, ‘Anna-Loo’ and her other guide helper ‘Katie-Loo’.
The Original Tour, so named as it was Cole-Wilkin’s initial public lavatory tour, runs from (the conveniently-named) Waterloo Station, along the Thames River and Covent Garden and finishes in London’ famous West End. Along the way the highlight is the Jubiloo near the London Eye, a royal flush with its bright Union Jack toilet seat. ‘The Jubiloo, of course,’ answered Katie-Loo when asked which London lavatory was her favourite. ‘How can anyone fail to be won over by its patriotic charm?!’
There’s also the Bloomsbury Loo Tour (history of modern toilet evolution), the Thomas Crapper’s Times with the Good Loo Guide (in Kensington to learn about the famous resident and his curious name), and then Anna-Loo’s Fart Tour, a fun and fact-filled tour through Soho covering health and other information on the most amusing bodily function.
Have you ever been lost trying to find your tour guide? Look no further, the official Loo Ladies are easily identifiable at each meeting spot, because they’ll be holding their trusty, decorated toilet plunger – just in case you get lost. Rachel can also be identified by her stripy, rainbow-coloured leg warmers – very hard to miss.
General tour tickets will cost you £15 (about R290). Private tours for groups can be arranged as well. Rest assured, however, that all your money won’t be going down the loo; for an additional £30 (R575), you can donate to the Toilet Twinning Tearfund for people around the world who don’t have access to a toilet.
Images: @LondonLooTours via Facebook.
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