Top Farm campsite, Marsham

Okay, so a campsite doesn't strictly have public toilets, but it does have toilets available to anyone that stays. 

The toilet facilities themselves are fantastically clean and the handwash leaves your hands smelling fresh and clean, without drying them out. 

The only downside I can see to it, is that there are 4 toilets and 2 sinks to cater for a whole campsite. I counted a dozen tents and probably a couple of dozen caravans and campers of varying sizes (some wont have toilets, or occupiers won't want to use the toilet inside the caravan for solids). I can imagine that in high season these facilities will get very busy. 

For the facilities available here it's an easy 7 P's for this one. 

Available Car car showroom on A5 in Cannock

Okay, so today my Mr suggested looking at buying a new car; who am I to object if he wants to spend his money on me (he doesn't drive). 

Usually when you think about visiting used car places you picture dirty toilets that a million people have used but never flushed. So imagine the surprised look that must have been on my face as I entered this spacious public toilet. There isn't just room to swing a cat, there's also room to swing a dog, or a small child if you wish (I don't condone animal or child cruelty). 

Not only did these toilets look appealing with their modern square shape, but it smelled pleasant too, and if that isn't enough, there is classical music being played too. 

The flush on the far right stall, wasn't powerful enough to flush away the few squares of toilet paper I used, but a second flush did the trick and worked immediately, so the refill on the cistern must be very speedy. 

The sinks were clean and had a mixer tap. To my delight they provided Molton Brown handwash and moisturiser. 

This public toilet is lovely, scoring 9P's. 

Selsey public toilets by the skatepark and BMX track

As you can imagine, Selsey skatepark and BMX track, which is located on the seafront next to a fast food truck, are frequented by kids, and lots of them, so you would be forgiven for thinking that the public toilets would be full of graffiti, rubbish, and would stink. However, you couldn't be further from the truth.  Whilst the outside of the toilets may honk of fish (well, it is a fishing port), the toilets certainly don't smell at all. 

It is cool inside the toilet block, but the toilet wasn't a cold shock to my bum as I sat down. The toilet paper, whilst not luxurious, was soft and there was plenty of it around. There was no dirty sanitary bin to wipe my leg against as it had been cleverly set back in to the wall behind me.  The lock on the door worked, and there was even a hook to hang my bag on. The flush was controlled by a motion sensor that didn't require my touch either.

The hand washing facility was my dreaded nightmare of the automated system, but it worked well and there was actually an indicator of where the water, soap and air were going to come from.

It may not be the Ritz, but it was clean, didn't smell, and was there when I needed it... I'm happy to give this one 8P's! 

Oxford services off the A34

I had always deemed these toilets as being the worst public toilets at a service station until recently. There was always a stench from the toilets that you could smell as you decended down the stairs, that grew stronger as you opened the door. There was even a dampness to the air. There were only a few cubicles with light in them to allow you to see what you were doing, and the rest were dark and dingy.

Thankfully, this seems to have changed in the last couple of weeks. As we pulled in to the services on Saturday (29th June 2013), I said to my husband "be prepared to hold your breath and pee fast; this place stinks", but I ended up eating my words.

They're still not great, and they still smell a bit musty, but the airfreshener they are now using is much better and I think they've even done something with the lighting as it's a little brighter.

The taps manage to spray everywhere, so don't put anything on the countertop, and make sure you have some moisturiser with you because this soap is harsh.

On the plus side, they have just installed the new Dyson V blade dryer, which is even better than the grey and yellow Dyson that you traditionally slide your hands in and out of, because, if like me, you don't like touching potentially "germy things", the 

Bicester Village

These public toilets definitely take a battering. There is thousands upon thousands of people passing through here each day, and these toilets are busy. I was there on a reasonably quiet day and I still had to queue to spend a penny. 

The handwashing and waiting area is spacious, and doesn't smell too bad, but is obviously masked with airfreshener. 

Within the cubicles there isn't much room to swing a cat, and you will be sitting on the sanitary bin too, as there gap just isn't big enough to fit comfortably.  Add to this, the fact that is single ply, single sheet toilet paper (ie, not on a roll), and it's not going to hit my top 10 toilets of all time.

The flush button for the toilet has clearly been pressed so many times it has lost the plastic silver coating and is down to bare plastic; with such a high traffic retail park that boasts such names a Gucci, Armani, Barbour, Vivienne Westwood, Ted Baker, and much more, you would have thought they would also keep the amenities up to a top condition.

The saving grace for this public toilet is that there is moisturiser to use after drying your hands on paper towels (not great for the environment and causes lots of waste).

Bicester Village scrapes a 6P's this time. 

Carluccio's in Chichester

Now I could quite happily tell you about the food I ate hear, but that's a whole other story. 

The toilet was just as clean as the restaurant, it felt as though I could have eaten my dinner in here (I didn't). 

It was a private toilet that had a self contained sink with a no touch system for the water and super powerful hand drier. There were no nasty niffs and the toilet roll was a comfy two ply. 

The hand wash was a sea kelp, pump top, that smelt like it was edible and was gentle on my hands. 

Nothing to complain about here, so it's an easy 10P's for this beauty! 

The Royal Marines museum in Portsmouth

When visiting on a recent weekend break, I was amazed at how modern they had made the museum displays and the layout, considering it is a very old building. However, the same can't be said for the public toilets. The first thing I noticed was that there is a slide bolt on the outside of the toilet door; anyone that knows what children are like, knows that this is far too big a temptation for a kid to leave alone. Therefore, I was concerned that a child might lock me in, or an inadvertent adult. 

Once inside the toilets I liked the tiles on the floor, and the homely feel of the pictures on the wall. The proper turn taps on the basins is definitely a plus point, as I'm not a fan of push taps that either let water run for 3 seconds, or for 3 minutes, but rarely anything in between. 

Don't expect a fresh fragrance as you wander in here though, as there is a dampness in the air, but if you can get beyond the slight mustiness in the air, these are actually decent toilets to park your bum on.

I visited on a very quiet day, so had no problem in getting straight in there, but I can imagine on a busy day these toilets are unlikely to withstand such a pounding.

It was the single ply toilet paper, and the pathetic excuse for hand dryers that let this place down, and means it scored a 7P's... P P P P P P P.

Radisson Hampshire

Much like all other Radisson hotels, this one is clean, smells good, has hand towels, uses The White Company hand wash and moisturiser, and feels like you're the first person to visit it as you enter the doors. 

Unlike the other Radisson toilets that I have visited, this one is a little tricky to find; once in reception you need to go down to the basement and through another set of double doors. Thankfully, the staff at Radisson always seem to be on hand to help out and point you in the right direction. 

Once again, this is another easy 10P's well earned!

Midhurst public toilets at the car park

I wasn't surprised that a posh place like Midhurst had public toilets in their car park, likewise I wasn't surprised that they didn't smell terrible either. However, I wasn't overjoyed at having to place my rear on a cold metal toilet (although I do see the benefits of it for hygiene). 

Rather than a conventional flush handle or a sensor to wave your hand (or whatever you decide to use) in front of, it had a metal panel the size of the tiles (can be seen on the left of the picture above the orange band) to touch. The hand wash was an automated system that was meant to give soap first, but it had obviously run out, then water before giving a powerful blast of air to dry your hands. Although this is a great system I have never recovered from an early childhood memory of putting my hands in to one and a big spider dropping on me, so always use these with great caution. 

This toilet was big, spacious, clean, and the toilet roll wasn't bad, so I'm scoring it 7P's! 

Radisson Grafton

One of my favourite places to pee has to be the Grafton Hotel, which is part of the Radisson Blu Edwardian chain. If you were blindfolded and led in to this public toilet you would swear you were about to get a spa treatment, it smells that good! In fact, all Radisson toilets (and other areas of the hotels) smell great.

This toilet is located in the bar area of the hotel, so must be visited by plenty of people, yet there's never any trace of it so it feels like you're the first person to ever warm the seat. 

This toilet is spacious with good quality toilet paper, a full length mirror to ensure you're looking your best (and your dress isn't tucked in to your knickers), and as always handwash that smells clean and fresh from The White Company, along with individual hand towels (although a dyson hand dryer is also available) and White Company hand moisturiser.

Radisson sets a very high benchmark for all bathrooms, meaning it scores the maximum of 10P's... P P P P P P P P P P 

Hey!

For far too long I've privately been judging public toilets; some I really like and some I absolutely despise to the point that I will not use them, no matter how desperate I am. It's amazing at how different they all are.

As part of my job I travel all over the place, so I've used quite a few toilets over the years.  

My new blog will give you some insight in to the public toilets I visit and what I think of them.