Bathrooms- odd question- sorry

I realize this is kind of an odd question and embarrassing to boot...

Where are public bathrooms available and do they cost?

We will be in England for 2 weeks in 2.5 weeks time from now- I will be menstruating during our trip and after 4 kids my periods are extremely heavy. I have to go to the bathroom every 1-2 hours during this time... so my question is how do I manage this?

Having been to Sweden many times I know to expect to have to search high and low for bathrooms and also expect to have to pay for them. But on my trips to England we've always just used the bathroom at our lodging, this time we will be moving around a lot, going from place to place and I need to know where I should be looking for bathrooms... I realize restaurants would be a way, but we can't exactly eat every couple hours just so I can use the loo... lol. Do petrol stations have bathrooms? Do stores? What do people do?

My husband (coming from Sweden) and his family and friends are of the mindset to just make sure to use the bathroom before leaving and hope that lasts until you get home again- I (having grown up in the US) have always expected toilets to just be there pretty much wherever you are- so what do we have to expect in England?

England is a big place.  Where are you talking about?  In London, some of the train stations have public toilets and there are some random public toilets in tourist areas and parks.  Plus, no shortage of hotels, museums and department stores. 

Petrol stations have them - although these are often not very clean or nice!

Rail stations have them & price varies. In Leeds, if you're already onto the departure platforms, the loos on that side of the ticket barrier are free. But outside the ticket barriers, it's 30 pence. I've seen other rail station toilets for 20 pence.

Some towns, villages & parks have free public loos in the city centre.

Also, I know I can always count on a stop into Marks & Spencer, or Debenhams, etc. I've used the loo in McDonalds before here (without buying anything - the staff could not have cared less, lol!) - but usually you'd be expected to purchase at least a drink (bottle of water?) or something to use the toilet in a restaurant or somewhere like McDonalds, Starbucks, etc.

If you're travelling along in a car on the motorways, there will be 'Services' stops - somewhat similar to 'Rest Areas' in the US. At a 'Services' stop, there will usually be a petrol station, one or more restaurants (Costa, Starbucks, Little Chef, M&S Simply Food, WH Smith, etc etc) & public toilets that anyone can use - whether you're buying something or not. These may or may not have a fee to use.

HTH!

Also I understand there is a mobile app you can put on your Iphone - probably Android too - for finding public loos!

Thank you.

I did not specify where because we will be all over the place, from big cities to little villages- basically we will be exploring all over from Manchester and south.

Do grocery stores typically have bathrooms?

I should have specified that we will be renting a car, we won't be going by rail anywhere. We fly into Heathrow and from there will be by car until we get back to Heathrow 2 weeks later.

I love the idea of an app- any idea what it would be called?

If you have a car and will have at least an hour or two between stops, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find at least a petrol station or a pub where you can stop.

It depends on the kind of grocery store - a large store like an Asda will have a toilet but a small one in a village probably won't.

I used to use the one at Sainsbury's all the time (it was a regular-sized shop, not an express, but not a super-size either).

Where are public bathrooms available and do they cost?

Beccarose, apologies if this comes off as pedantic, but... hopefully you realise that public toilets here are not called 'bathrooms'.  The signage you will be looking for will probably say 'toilets' or 'ladies'.

Sounds like you won't be in Glasgow, but the toilets at the 2 main train stations here were 20p last time i looked.  The 'bathroom' thing could also be potentially confusing at Glasgow Central, where there are public toilets, showers and baths!

I love the idea of an app- any idea what it would be called?

It's called Toilet Finder - I cannot vouch for how good/helpful it is, but if it's free or doesn't cost much, might be worth a go? 

Our town's main grocery store has a toilet - it's not huge, but not a tiny shop either.

There are free public toilets in all villages and towns around here but, sadly, many have been closed to cut costs over the past year. It's something I'm angry about and would really like to do something about!

Beccarose, apologies if this comes off as pedantic, but... hopefully you realise that public toilets here are not called 'bathrooms'.  The signage you will be looking for will probably say 'toilets' or 'ladies'.

Thanks, but yes, I do understand that. I am well versed in 'bathrooms' being called all sorts of things all over the world and have worked on developing a talent for figuring out just what it is called wherever I happen to be. I just figured on an American board I could call it what most Americans call it and still be alright.

It's called Toilet Finder - I cannot vouch for how good/helpful it is, but if it's free or doesn't cost much, might be worth a go?  Smiley

Our town's main grocery store has a toilet - it's not huge, but not a tiny shop either.

Thank you! I've now downloaded the app. Yay!

There are free public toilets in all villages and towns around here but, sadly, many have been closed to cut costs over the past year. It's something I'm angry about and would really like to do something about!

That is unfortunate, but seems to be how things are going all over... we have the same problem here.

If you have a car and will have at least an hour or two between stops, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find at least a petrol station or a pub where you can stop.

It depends on the kind of grocery store - a large store like an Asda will have a toilet but a small one in a village probably won't.

That's reassuring, thank you for that.

Beccarose,

As someone who suffers from IBS, I feel your pain. I've been there, panicked, searching desperately for a bathroom/toilet.

(I have stories about throwing money at a cashier in Disneyworld to use the restaurant's bathroom, and shouting at strangers on the streets of Leeds, "TOILET! Where's a TOILET!"  Oh, it's been bad.  I am now NEVER without Immodium AND a purseful of twenty and ten pence coins.)

The toilets I've been in that charge are usually 20 or 30 pence. I also always carry a few packets of tissue in my bag, as well as antibacterial handwash. One never knows how well-stocked the facilities might be.  Make sure you carry enough feminine protection as well, as many bathrooms do not have dispensers in them.

All the bigger department stores I've been in have toilets, and there are nearly always public toilets in tourist areas and other points of interest - sometimes freestanding, and sometimes in their little cafe.  Between town center public bathrooms, tourist area bathrooms, fast-food, cafes, malls and big department stores, I think you won't have too much difficulty. (Unless you are going hiking out in the wilderness!

(The fact that there is a toilet-finding app is amazing!  On Seinfeld's 'reunion' episode on Curb Your Enthusiasm, it was revealed that George had made millions developing the iToilet. I thought that was a fantastic idea and wished that someone would do that for real. Now I see someone has! )

(The fact that there is a toilet-finding app is amazing! 

Absolutely!!

As someone who suffers from IBS, I feel your pain. I've been there, panicked, searching desperately for a bathroom/toilet.

Fallgall, you might benefit from contacting the Bladder & Bowel Foundation:
http://www.bladderandbowelfoundation.org/
or your local DIAL:
http://www.scope.org.uk/dial

And looking at getting a RADAR key for your health needs (there's also an App or book for where accessible toilets are):
http://www.radar-shop.org.uk/Range.aspx?id=0
http://www.radar-shop.org.uk/Detail.aspx?id=0

Beccarose, the local authorities where you will be going may sometimes publish public toilet guides, so best to contact them direct:
https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council  

There are a ton of different apps, or there's also http://www.toiletmap.co.uk if you don't want to install anything!

Hotel lobbies are great as well! There's always a bathroom in the lobby and they don't generally ask if you're staying there or not.