From the banks of the River Thames to the luxurious restrooms of the Savoy Hotel, the Loo Tour offers an unusual way to explore the capital, tracing its social history through places often overlooked.
Starting at Waterloo Station, the two-hour walk ends near Charing Cross, taking participants across central London.
Armed with a plunger, the guide leads the group through stories of Victorian conveniences, the city’s first pay toilets, and former public toilets since transformed into trendy bars.
Between ten and 15 locations are featured on each tour.
The concept was created in 2013 by Rachel Cole-Wilkin, a Californian tour guide who was struck by London’s pay-to-pee culture after moving to the UK 14 years ago.
She said: “I was always trying to find free toilets.
“In the US, charging for toilets isn’t really a thing.”
It became a bit of an obsession for the guide and eventually someone suggested turning it into a tour.
After researching the city’s public toilets, Cole-Wilkin realised they revealed far more than practical infrastructure.
The tour blends humour with history, while also raising awareness about access to public toilets, a serious and often unequal issue.
Guide Charo Havermans said: “Toilets are something everyone needs, but not everyone can easily access. That’s really exacerbated certain inequalities.
“So it’s important to think a little bit more about that place you go to everyday and you might be taken for granted, because it’s not like that for everyone.”
The tour has evolved over the years, shaped by the closure and reopening of public toilets across the city.
Today, around 100 people take part each year, discovering London’s past one loo at a time.
Watch below to find out more.
Feature image credit: Leila Lamnaouer
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