In the course of researching for walks since I qualified as a Westminster Guide in 2009 I have managed to discover a number of good loos. The previously free loos provided by the Council including the rather nasty ones at Green Park tube now carry a 50p entrance fee so I thought the time had come to share my list. It is very much still a work in progress so if you can recommend any other handy stops please comment below. In most cases I am of course only talking about the ladies’ toilets.
Mayfair – Whilst studying for my Westminster Guiding exam in Mayfair I discovered that there is a very good cafe within Sothebysin New Bond Street
The Royal Institution, Albemarle Street. Not only does this building have some very good loos but they have a cafe and bar which are vastly underused and empty even on a Friday evening; in fact some of the CWGLA sub committees meet there as it’s so quiet despite the fact that they have a half price happy hour every weekday evening! (I hope I don’t get told off by my fellow committee members for advertising this place.) For both ladies and gents walk past the giant £20 note depicting Michael Faraday just off the entrance hall.
Nearby on Piccadilly the Royal Academy is another good stopping place.
Department stores are always good for loos but there can sometimes be a bit of a trek to find them. Fortnum and Mason’s loos are pretty easily accessible and are my regular stop prior to leading my St James’s walk. Enter the shop from the side entrance in Duke Street St James’s, walk up one flight of stairs, past all the hampers and tucked away on the left you will find a couple of ladies’ toilets.
Liberty is another shop I regularly use. I can’t remember the exact loo location but it’s not too far!
Hotels are also a good bet; just walk in confidently as if you belong there and you shouldn’t have a problem. On one occasion what I thought was a hotel on Millbank, I discovered on my way to the loo that it was in fact the BBC!
For a decadent toilet stop the Hippodrome Casino is worth visiting and you can have a nose around too. Anyone can just wander in. On your way to the loos on the first floor have look at the amazing floor covered in pennies. This Londonist article has an interesting observation on the view from the gents!
There are more than a few gaps in my loo knowledge, especially in the immediate vicinity around the Palace of Westminster
The author of this blog (Joanna Moncrieff) is a qualified City of Westminster Tour Guide who specialises in food and drink themed walks in the West End of London.
Details of all her walks are listed here
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