Many restaurants, cafes, pubs, shopping areas, hotels, museums, attractions and stations in London have accessible toilets. If you're not a customer of the business, it's up to the service provider whether they'll let you use the lavatory.
Many toilets are accessible through the National Key Scheme (NKS). The principle behind the NKS is that if local authorities and other organisations decide to lock toilets in order to prevent misuse, they should use a standard lock.
There are 1,100 toilets in the NKS in Greater London. Disability Rights UK has a list of toilets in the scheme, which is published in the Radar Key Region List. Copies of the guide are available from their website. For further information visit the Disability Rights UK website.
Accessible toilets at London stations
Some mainline trains also have accessible toilets on board. Contact the operator for details.
Accessible toilets can be found in most mainline rail stations in London.
For visitors travelling around the capital by Tube, Transport for London has a comprehensive map that shows which underground stations have toilets and what facilities are available at each one. Ask for a map at any underground station or download the map from the Transport for London website.
Community Toilet Scheme
The City of London’s Community Toilet Scheme (CTS) encourages shops, restaurants and bars to give the public free access to their toilets during trading hours. Find a map of participating businesses on the City of London website.
Search for accessible toilets online
There are several handy websites that allow you to plan your trip to London by researching nearby facilities in advance.
The Changing Places website lists facilities for people who cannot use standard accessible toilets. This includes people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, as well as older people.
AccessAble produces detailed access guides to thousands of places, from restaurants and hotels to shops and railway stations. Find out more about accessible toilets with AccessAble's individual access guides.
The Great British Toilet Map is an interactive map of toilet facilities in London and across the UK. It is possible to filter the search so that only accessible toilets appear in search results.