Lavatory facilites at Motorway Services

I agree. Fortunately DH is very understanding and knows we need to stop before I am desperate as otherwise I would not manage the long walk when you got there.
On the M1 it is usually ok as the intervals between service stations are not too long, but on other journeys it can be a nightmare, wondering where the next loo is.
As for non motorways...

I looked into trying to get more motorway services and it's an incredibly complex process as there are so many parties involved - and of course the cost [never mind the benefits and the fact that we're told not to drive when tired].

The lack of facilities on motorways and major routes is dire. HGV drivers have an awful time. They have to take legal rest breaks but the distances between services is poor. Laybys are closing and there is a paucity of services there too.

The provision of toilet services generally is very poor throughout the UK - unlike in France where it's recognised that humans need the toilet; and some of us more than others! All my journeys are planned around toilet locations - and I carry a popaloo in the boot of my car too, just in case

DD carries a 'SheWee' for this purpose, I wear incontinence pants on long journeys, 'just in case'. I have a friend who campaigns for 'Changing Rooms' which pushes for adapted toilets for children/adults with disabilities. Their son, now 10, and tall, is doubly incontinent and needs these facilities, which are currently few and far between.

Did a comfort stop with my mum at Tibshelf (M1) a few days ago. With her Blue Badge, we were able to park right at the entrance - but then had to walk right round all the shops and eateries to reach the toilets, which were at the other end of the building!
It looks like originally you could at least get there in a straight line, but some idiots - presumably with strong bladders and no disabilities - decided to make that impossible so that you can't bypass the eateries!

I wear nightime Tena lady pads when travelling and also keep a she wee and a pee bol in the car after the time when we'd travelled back from Northumberland without hardly seeing another car only to travel 5 minutes further [when I could have stopped off at a service station but felt ok weewise] and found the road was closed. We were diverted onto another part of the motorway which wasn't even next to a hard shoulder, so couldn't get out of the car at all. It was the most excruciating 20 minutes of my life; just made it to the next service station in time.

I think that the loos are at the back so that customers need to pass the shops to get to them. If you think about the things they put at the front of the shops to tempt you it seems logical.

I have been known to crouch behind bushes when I really can't last any longer (though thankfully not on a motorway).

In the last few years service stations have started putting obstacle courses between entrances and the loos. I think they want to reduce the number of customers who rush in, use the loo, and rush out again without spending any money.

They are hoping by routing all customers past the growing number of retail opportunities we may be tempted to buy that fluffy animal, mobile phone accessory, or garden table. we have wanted for years and want to pay a grossly inflated price for.

I loathe motorway loos. They are usually messy as well as all the inconvenience of getting there. I have found that there is usually a small petrol station/shop sharing the services site, and they usually have one or two loos. Much better, though sometimes long queues around Christmas.

I haven't travelled any distance by car since I've started having "urgency" issues. This all makes me wary of doing it now. It's bad enough on a train when sometimes you have to walk through several carriages to get to the loo. Most local stations do not have toilets any more and the central London ones tend to be down loads of steps, then you have to find the correct change to get through a turnstile.

GrandmaMoira we were on a 2 1/2 hour train journey to London a few weeks ago and the only loo was out of order. The man selling drinks didn't seem to see the problem but eventually, after some pressure from me, arranged for the train to stop at a station and let us all use the loo there. He carried on selling drinks without telling anyone there was no loo.

I was recently on a train with no working toilets, thankfully I was ok but they did offer to stop longer at 5he station if anyone needed the station loo but sometimes they are across a bridge or subway would they wait that long or 3ven know who had gone to it
I find finding loos a real worry

I had a most unpleasant experience on the A34/M40, when I went to use the loo at the M &S food shop; the person before had been horribly ill and made no attempt to clear it up. The assistant said she was not allowed to clean it as she was handling food, so I left intending to use the next service station on the M40. Before I could reach it the traffic stopped, held up for five hours by someone threatening to jump off the motorway bridge. How I held out I don't know. It was dark so I didn't dare get out of the car in case the edge of the motorway was over a drop.

There are often hotels or pubs near junctions and I have often said 'do you mind if I use your loos?' i have never been turned away and they are usually very clean.

Don't know where you are in France goldengirl but in our area the provision of toilet facilities is abysmal. The toilets are often smelly and poorly maintained and some are still holes in the ground. In some places there is only one room and one has to walk past men at the urinal to get to the cubicle. Peeing at the roadside is common practice. (men only). French people are more laid back about these things but still........

I use the M25 as part of a once/twice weekly journey that should take two and a half hours but has been up to seven.
I have a comment.

Dartford crossing. Thurrock Services. Wheelchair. Shame on them.

Id reccommend driving round to the HGV area where the facilities are . You'll find toilets in the clean, normal ,fuel garage.

They have to, due to equality law, provide a ladies toilet but it is rarely used.

Usually theres a subway, coffee. hot savoury pastries. and it's just like a normal fuel station shop. Sweets, magazines, seating area.
Toilets are always clean, hardly used at night. No old tat for sale either.

Tegan2 - you posted what I was thinking! Tena Lady products are great confidence boosters when travelling!

Oh and according to my son and grandson the men's are clean

Elrel; I was on a train a while back and people were crammed in like sardines; result was I couldn't even attempt to get out of my seat to go to the loo; thankfully the Tena Lady gave me the confidence to stay where I was. Have booked to travel first class next time as can't bear the thought of that happening again....although I have heard that people pile into the first class carriages anyway when the train is full. Strangely enough, when I went to buy a ticket, I was told there were none available but when I mentioned I had a senior rail card they said there were 4 seats left. I assume that train companies have to keep a few seats available in first class for 'oldies' like me....I mean, the whole point [or one anyway] of travelling by train is to have access to a loo ...

kitty; I did that when I arrived at Derby station and missed the bus; had to wait an hour for the next one and couldn't get back onto a station platform to use the loos there, so went to the hotel next door. Tried to walk in looking as if I knew where I was going but I think they were used to it happening. The S.O. always nips into hotels if necessary, something I would never have dared to do before I knew him...

If I'm needing a loo when I'm in London I always go into a hotel. Just look confident! Interesting point abou motorways, I'll remember that. The provision for disabled people is appalling in the U.K. MPs and councillors should all have a few days in a wheelchair.

And there was I thinking I was the only one. I agree that the provision in France is much worse than it is in the UK. Travelling fairly long distances on ordinary roads there is often no provision at all. I am willing to go behind the bushes but am a bit nervous about doing it when I am alone. In England I have found Tesco very useful.

Well they must have moved things around at Tibshelf! It used to be a regular pit stop for us and the walk past the eateries was perfectly straight or alternatively you could park round the back where the coaches parked up and of course the toilets were very close to that back door. I wonder if that might not have been unconnected?