I am always quite happy to pay the 30p charge to use the toilet facilities at London Victoria rail station because it offers a five star standard and service when compared to some of the places in which I have had to do my business in.
The potty room at Victoria offers efficient and hygienic Dyson hand dryers and each soap container is always kept topped up. There is always a cleaner working inside of the facility, ensuring that the 40-odd toilet seats in the Ladies are always glistening and the supply of loo paper seems to be endless. I have truly never had a bad stint in these toilets.
Then there are those toilets which make you feel like you're about to be mugged upon entering them. You know the ones; toilets which have apparently not received any (much needed!) maintenance since the dawn of time which are dimly lit if at all! You fear touching any soap dispensers, nappy changing tables or the other bathroom accessories for fear of both them falling off of the wall and the layer of dirty crud that cloaks them all. The public toilets located in the car park of my old primary school are a perfect example of this intimidating loo experience.
The very worst of the awful toilets I have encountered so far however was recently in the McDonalds in Camden. It was the early hours of the morning, so customers were limited to the use of the downstairs disabled toilet only. Usually, disabled toilets are the cleanest because often, you need a special key for entry but blimey, this one was a complete mess. I expected the toilets to be relatively dirty due to the hoard of drunken people coming in for a quick burger before calling amend to their evening but there was no way that the squalor and snot curdling stink - of this toilet was created in a single 2 hour period.
I was very envious of my male friend who had both the equipment and the audacity to discreetly urinate in alley ways and the like!
