The summer season in the UK and most of Europe calls for a special picnic experience with friends and family. It is not cool to stay indoors when the sun is up and the temperature is bearable yet at adorable levels. We tend to glance at the weather forecasts on favourable sites such as BBC Weather, Accuweather or the Met Office UK weather report for regular updates.
Any forecasts for sunny weekends usually call for an outdoor experience. These activities range from plunging into an outdoor swimming pool, visiting the beach or having a picnic at a local park. A lot of these weekends activities are usually accompanied with some snacks or food. We will focus on the locked toilet experience during a picnic at a park.
Encountering a locked public toilet during a picnic
You might encounter locked toilets at some UK parks during the weekend. It is never a good time to arrive at a picnic only to realise the two available toilets are all locked. Two thoughts will strike your mind- either the facilities are broken or they are locked because a warm summer weekend will lead to overwhelming demand for the facilities. It is quite difficult to enjoy the games, conversations and food during a picnic if there are no available facilities for a number one or two. We are always reminded that if one fails to plan, you are essentially planning to fail. What are the steps in preventing a toilet spoiler during an eagerly anticipated picnic?
Simple tips to dealing with a possible locked public toilet during a picnic
1) Choose a park close to home: There are several parks in the UK and Europe. It is important to choose a park that is a walking distance, or a short drive from your home or that of a friend. In the event of a locked or broken down toilet, you could make the short trip to your friend’s residence or your home.
2) Visit the park’s official website before the picnic: It is important to pay an online visit to the website of the park of your choice. This will ensure you identify any potential toilet closure during peak periods like weekends.
3) Use a public toilet finder App: There are a few apps like ToiFi and Flush which will help you search for the closest public toilet. You’ve just noticed a potential park will have their public toilets locked during the weekend, what next? Use a public restroom locator app to detect the closest accessible public toilets to your park of choice. The proximity of a public toilet will guide you to either sticking to this park or going with one with good public toilet access.
4) Hire a portable toilet: Let’s assume your picnic will be well attended and is quite an organised event. Maybe a fundraiser, religious meeting or the launch of a Meetup group. You might consider hiring a portable toilet unit to cater to the needs of your attendees.
5) Eat and drink less during the picnic: You’ve made up your mind to have a picnic at a particular park. This is after noticing their restroom facilities are not accessible during the weekend and there are no available residential or public units. Your best bet will be to eat and drink less to avoid the need for gents or ladies.
Holding picnics at the park is always popular during the peak of summer. It’s important you research the availability of public toilet facilities to avoid any discomfort.
