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AIBU?

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Original poster

I just found out about this???

188 replies

PonyPals · 04/03/2025 09:21

To all the UK Mners. Is it true you have to pay to use the public bathrooms??

OP posts:
Wallywobbles · 04/03/2025 11:11

Paris lots of paid ones.

27Maisie27 · 04/03/2025 11:10

NicolaCasanova · 04/03/2025 09:42

At St. Pancras station the toilets are free.

I live in a European city where there are very very few public toilets and most of those have a fee (90 centimes or a Euro). When I was having radiotherapy which gave me urgency for the toilet, I could barely leave the house, and going to the supermarket usually resulted in an accident; I had a disabled pass but there are no disabled toilets!

Men here tend to just wee wherever in the street.

Ugh, which European city? I must strike it off my bucket list 😂

cramptramp · 04/03/2025 11:10

I'd rather pay to use a clean toilet than go into a skanky free one.

butterpuffed · 04/03/2025 11:07

Got caught short in Budapest once and ran into a Mcdonalds to use the toilet and there was a guy with a little till outside the toilet taking €2 off everyone!

Probably a 'would be' customer who'd forgotten to bring his wallet with him !

Onlyvisiting · 04/03/2025 11:06

Occasionally, not usually

AmaryllisNightAndDay · 04/03/2025 11:05

Years ago I heard this outside the toilets at Glasgow station "better make it a poo girls, they're charging 30p!"

Timeistightagain · 04/03/2025 11:05

x2boys · 04/03/2025 10:13

You can buy them on amazon for a couple of quid.

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Oh I didn't know that!
That's very interesting.

CosyDenimShark · 04/03/2025 11:05

Yep 20p here, tourist destination so we're ripped off constantly!

Timeistightagain · 04/03/2025 11:04

BashfulClam · 04/03/2025 10:21

Glasgow central went up to 30p before they stopped charging!

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I'm not surprised!
Buchanan Bus station is currently 30p but at least it takes cash and has a change machine available for those without the right coins for the turnstile.

ICouldHaveCheckedFirst · 04/03/2025 10:58

In Scotland, expect to pay 50p (both sexes), using a card only, if you can find any public toilets. Several councils have closed all of theirs.

Bumcake · 04/03/2025 10:51

Negroany · 04/03/2025 10:22

Why are you asking?

What do you mean you "just found out"?

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Conversation, presumably.

She means she was recently told. Blimey.

I hadn't realised that all the stations had stopped charging, that’s good.

DuckieDodgyHedgyPiggy · 04/03/2025 10:50

Public loos near me (South coast) are free, in the town centre, park and in the railway station.

DollydaydreamTheThird · 04/03/2025 10:50

Anonym00se · 04/03/2025 09:29

Yes, sometimes. There are very, very few public toilets in my area now. The usual thing is to sneak into a pub or cafe and use theirs. Sometimes you have to buy something to get a code. Some train stations still have free toilets but the mainline ones usually charge.

It’s not just the UK, it’s similar in tourist areas across Europe.

Europe is much worse in my opinion! Especially touristy holiday resort places. I hate having to sneak into loos of cafes/restaurants that I have no intention of eating at. There are very few public conveniences in Spanish island resorts and the ones that are there have been closed on my last few holidays. When you have pushed a 10lb8oz baby out of your vagina if you need to go you need to go now.

Lolapusht · 04/03/2025 10:47

In some places, but because we can be quite politely subversive we will get round it if we don’t agree with it!

Remember one occasion in Morecombe when someone came out of a loo, told me you had to pay & how she thought it was ridiculous and when I said I didn’t have any money she guarded the door for me. I then did the same for the next person 😀

Imbusytodaysorry · 04/03/2025 10:44

@PonyPals genuine question how have you never herd or came across this?
Does your village /town not have public toilets or charge and you don’t go anywhere other than where you live ?

PoppyBaxter · 04/03/2025 10:43

You have to pay for some toilets, and not for others. It's totally random. Thankfully most which need payment do take a card, as I never have coins.
I also casually crouched and walked under a public toilet turnstile the other day as I didn't have my purse on me at all, so do try that if you can get away with it!
Generally, I'm happy to pay to be able to use clean toilets.

WhoDatNow · 04/03/2025 10:43

I was unable to pee in Bowness one day due to not having any cash and the Witch on the gate not letting me in. I was almost in tears. My husband escorted me into the gents instead.

Cyclebabble · 04/03/2025 10:35

No, not many are paid these days, though of course the expression "spend a penny" does come from the fact that toilets were chargeable historically. IME most places will let you use a toilet with DCs but one or two can get grumpy if you are not buying something.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 04/03/2025 10:28

And the big park close to a dd has free public loos, but they are locked at 5 pm, which is a bit of a PITA when kids want to stay a lot longer in summer. I do understand why though - it’s to prevent other ‘unsavoury’ activities.

Original poster
PonyPals · 04/03/2025 10:28

Never thought I would be so fascinated by toilet practices in other countries Grin

OP posts:
Grumpyoldpersonwithcats · 04/03/2025 10:27

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 04/03/2025 10:26

Nor Waterloo, AFAIK. It used to cost 20p.

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30p before the charge was removed 😲

Original poster
PonyPals · 04/03/2025 10:27

BitOutOfPractice · 04/03/2025 10:07

I think it’s far more common to pay for the loo in continental Europe than it is in the uk. It’s been phased out at railway stations hasn’t it?

In Australia... the news takes awhile to reach our shores!

OP posts:
GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 04/03/2025 10:26

Fitzcarraldo353 · 04/03/2025 09:24

Even that's being phased out in a lot of places. Certainly London train stations don't charge anymore (at least not in Victoria or Charing Cross).

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Nor Waterloo, AFAIK. It used to cost 20p.

ShamrockShenanigans · 04/03/2025 10:26

If you mean toilets, it depends on where they are.

But for the most part, no.

Where are you from OP?

BashfulClam · 04/03/2025 10:25

We usually find our way to pee for free. For example in Prague they are mostly chargeable, we found an M&S receipt and memorised the toilet code. Bought water from Starbucks so we had the loo code, used them in the shopping centre, museums and the castle even if we didn’t need to go as might as well go while it’s free. I paid once. In Oban the ferry terminal had free loos, the premier inn has loos downstairs that are free, the big Tesco has free loos…Inveraray are paid public loos but go into one of the pubs…

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