You don’t have to spend a penny to visit Tripadvisor’s top-rated historic site for the Scottish seaside town of Rothesay… But you can if you have to.
Incredibly, the highest ranked ancient monument in the Isle of Bute capital is a Victorian bath block on the beachside esplanade at Rothesay.
To date, more than 500 travelers have reviews submitted of the city’s public services, giving it an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5. Reviews range from “exquisite” to “incredible.” One called them “the most wonderful cistern decoration this side of Rome”, another, “the most impressive public facilities in Britain”.
I visited the Isle of Bute to find out why this toilet block has become an internet sensation.
Bute bus tours that once headed to conventional attractions such as Mount Stuart Manor House and Gardens and medieval Rothesay Castle now stop to see the baths.
On Tripadvisor, the highest-rated ancient monument in Rothesay, the capital of the Isle of Bute, is this Victorian bath block. Simon Heptinstall visited him to see why he has become an internet sensation.
To date, over 500 travelers have submitted reviews of Rothesay’s public amenities, giving it an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5. Reviews range from “exquisite” to “incredible.”
The island lies at the mouth of the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. It’s about a two-hour drive from Glasgow, including a 40-minute ferry.
Visitors disembark on the seafront at Rothesay, the island’s only town. It is a small, classic Victorian seaside resort with ornamental gardens and palm trees on the seafront.
With its beaches, hotels and cafes, Bute was a popular destination for Victorian steamboat trippers. Many men are said to have spent the voyage drinking heavily at the unregulated bar on board, hence the phrase “smoking drunks.”
Perhaps that is why the toilet block is located right next to the ferry slipway, between a minigolf and ornamental fountains and flower beds. Today it is open every day and is free.
One reviewer called the Victorian baths “the most wonderful cistern decoration this side of Rome.”
The opulent urinals were visited by King Charles when he was Prince of Wales.
You’ll spot the simple brick block by its period wrought-iron sign that reads “public services.” You wouldn’t think it was anything other than a convenient facility on the seafront.
But entering is like going back in time. There’s a utility cubicle and a tiled foyer with displays about the artisans who created the bathroom fixtures. There is even a guest book, probably the only one in a bathroom in the entire world.
A heavy brown wooden door with vintage etched glass reading ‘lavatory’ opens to reveal Britain’s most extraordinary gentlemen.
It is a large room with a beautiful mosaic floor and a high wooden ceiling with skylights. Surrounding the walls are 20 of the most ornate white porcelain and black marble urinals you’ll ever see. Each has two black and white tiled shelves, a distinctive Victorian Twyford insignia and the words “The Adamant” printed into the porcelain.
The Rothesay Baths are considered by architectural historians to be the best surviving Victorian public baths in Britain. They were built in 1899 by the Rothesay Harbor Trust for the princely sum of £530 using the best possible fittings supplied by Twyford of Glasgow, writes Simon
In the center of the room is a round podium with six more opulent marble urinals. The plumbing is fed by tall wall-mounted black marble and glass cisterns, which show the water level inside. All the walls are tiled, the pipes are shiny polished copper, and vintage lights hang from the ceiling. The sinks are made of Wedgewood blue veined porcelain and, above them, a grooved bar decorated with elegant tiles.
No wonder architectural historians consider these to be the best surviving Victorian public baths in Britain.
The opulent urinals were even visited by King Charles when he was Prince of Wales. The urinal he used is now surely the only one in the world marked with his coat of arms and the phrase “by royal appointment.”
The baths were built in 1899 by the Rothesay Harbor Trust for the princely sum of £530 using the best possible fittings supplied by Twyford of Glasgow. Surprisingly, when the block was built, women were not expected to use the public toilets at all. It was thought that a lady should simply wait until she returned to the privacy of her home.
That’s why men’s bathrooms are Victorian. Women’s bathrooms were added in 1994, in the storage rooms. They are completely normal.
Today’s female visitors, however, can ask the attendant to knock on the door before taking a look. If no one is on guard, they simply have to risk spying inside the knights to see the unique ornamentation.
More information: visitbute.com.
