You know how the saying goes, when you gotta go, you gotta go. It doesn’t change the fact that your bladder does occasionally fail you at the most inconvenient times. And so, whether you’re out and about on the weekend touring London, shopping at Oxford Street, enjoying the Christmas lights and markets or in the middle of a park enjoying a cheeky drink – this one’s for you.
Enter: The Toilet Map.
The Toilet Map aims to be a complete, up-to-date, sustainable source of toilet locations. It’s the UK’s largest database of publicly-accessible toilets, with over 14,000 (whoa) facilities. This is run by Public Convenience, a joint venture between researchers Dr Jo-Anne Bichard and Gail Ramster and software development company Neontribe who designed and built the map. The best part is, the information comes from the public – anyone can go on the website and add, edit or remove toilets.
You can additionally filter the map further and look for ‘Free,’ ‘Baby Changing,’ ‘Accessible,’ ‘Gender Neutral,’Radar Key’ and ‘Automatic.’ You can additionally find the opening hours too.
If you find yourself doing the I-need-the-toilet-dance or clench, and if you find a new spot, feel free to add to this open London resource.
And if you’re really desperate – most of the large railway stations have free toilets – Paddington, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Victoria, Charing Cross, Cannon Street and Waterloo. Some of them are with a fee or intended just for disabled people, but there are plenty of options.
You can find the TfL toilet map for tube stations below:
Hopefully, this puts you at ease. Knowing you’ll be never too far away from a toilet is a comforting thought so, keep the maps handy – they are valid year round no matter the season or occasion and well, happy pee-ing? What more can we say.