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“By the 1850s, the river was a giant cesspit. But it wasn’t until the stench reached the Houses of Parliament during a summer nicknamed the Great Stink by the locals that action was taken.” That meant designing a gargantuan brick-built sewerage system, much of which is still in use today. On the other side of the bridge, we’re ushered towards a memorial to the man who brought order to London’s ordure. Civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette built a system for three million locals, 10 million short of the number it services now. Weaving north from the river, we next pass some City of Westminster public toilets charging 50p a visit, Erickson laments then arrive at a discreet steel ring embedded in the sidewalk. It’s a pop-up urinal that rises nightly from the ground to discourage ‘late-night piddlers’ from sullying area alleyways. But it’s not the only way to spend a penny here without handing over some coin. Near Trafalgar Square, our guide lists several gratis options in the area, from Starbucks to the National Gallery. Making a mental note for future visits, I turn to my fellow toilet tourists for their take on the tour. “We chose it because it’s odd and a little exotic,” chuckles Greenville, SC resident Bill Whiting, visiting London with his wife Rhonda. She adds that their son-in-law encouraged them to take the plunge and she’s glad they did” “we’re enjoying seeing parts of London other tourists don’t see.” Crossing Covent Garden’s brickcobbled plaza, we’re also hearing stories few other visitors encounter. London’s 1851 Great Exhibition, we’re told, marked the first time paid restrooms were tried in the capital and their success of 827,000 visitors and a handsome profit triggered a flush of pay-to-pee facilities. But London has always been a toileting innovator. On a side street near the Strand’s grand Savoy Hotel, we gather around an unassuming street lamp. In Victorian times, lamps like this lined the city, powered by excess biogas from the sewerage system. When all London’s gas lamps, not just sewerage-fueled ones, were eventually superseded by electricity, this final biogas example was saved and restored as an historical reminder. It’s now, Erickson claims, fueled from the washrooms of the Savoy. But this isn’t the only change to London’s lavatorial landscape over the years. Many conveniences have been converted into housing or businesses in recent decades including our final stop. Descending a darkened stairwell in a nearby sidewalk, we’re told that ‘company-seeking’ regulars from Oscar Wilde to Joe Orton notoriously favored this former gentlemen’s public loo for their nighttime activities. Closed in the 1980s, it’s since become a jazzy subterranean bar with a nice line in cocktails. After inspecting its cubicle toilets the glass doors turn opaque when locked I wave goodbye to the group and return to the sidewalk above. My days of paying to pee in London, I promise myself, are now firmly behind me. London Loo Tours: The Waterloo Tour Iconic London from a new perspective, introducing guests to the history and surprisingly dynamic modern politics of the Public Toilet. You’ll never have felt more British, as you learn about ‘spending a penny’ at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and explore London’s most patriotic toilet. The Bloomsbury Tour Interesting and thought provoking walk and talk about toilets, sanitation, and other fun historical facts about going to the Loo! The revamped Bloomsbury Loo Tour will burst open the lavatorial door to another side of the toilet saga! Walking Tours last about two hours, finishing in a pub or bar. Walking tour costs £12 for adults and £10 for students and seniors. More info online: lootours.com. TRAVEL <strong>DRIFT</strong>TRAVEL.COM OFTEN . LIVE WELL . 87
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