Free-to-use toilets in Newcastle city centre

Have you ever been out and about in Newcastle City Centre and suddenly find you need the toilet? As the city evolves over time, even seasoned toon visitors might find themselves wandering aimlessly in search of a loo.

One of my chronic conditions is interstitial cystitis, also known as bladder pain syndrome. It is essentially chronic inflammation of the bladder, causing pain and urinary frequency. It feels very much like having a UTI or regular cystitis, but with no infection present - so it's not treatable by antibiotics.

This means I need to empty my bladder a lot more frequently than most people. On bad days, it can be every 15 minutes and holding it in is really painful. I also have IBS, and a little one that requires nappy changes, so unsurprisingly I get really anxious if I'm not sure where the nearest toilet is.

Here is a list of toilets in Newcastle city centre that are free and available to use. I've been working on this list for myself but I'm sure it will be useful to others. I've included my most regularly-visited loos and then a more detailed list of facilities across the city. I've included details about accessible toilets and baby changing facilities where possible. 

💖 Regulars 💖

When I have the littles:
The third floor parents' area near the baby equipment in Fenwick. They have changing stations with hand-washing facilities, a bottle warmer, an accessible toilet that can fit your pram in while you pee, a sofa area and private feeding rooms with comfy rocking chairs. This was my absolute go-to when I was on maternity leave, as it felt like a safe space away from judging eyes. 

When I'm shopping sans-children:
I usually use the ones opposite Debenhams, as they are closest to my usual shopping haunts.

On the commute:
One of my biggest bug-bears about the Tyne & Wear Metro system is the unavailability of toilets - though I completely understand why as they would be very hard to maintain and keep clean. Fortunately, the closest station to my work is Central Station, which has toilets that can be used even if you aren't travelling by train. They are down near the ticket office. On really bad bladder days I need to make a pit-stop here before the eight minute walk to work!

🏢Across the city 🏬

This list isn't exhaustive, so if you know of any other businesses that are happy for the public to use their toilets, please let me know in the comments. Some places are mentioned twice, as they might fit into more than one category.

Intu Eldon Square facilities:

Two floors above the Clayton Street entrance, accessed via lift or stairs opposite Debenhams 
🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼
On the ground floor near the Old Eldon Square entrance
🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼

You can see these on the Intu Eldon Square Centre Map 

Department store facilities:

Fenwick
Lower ground floor 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼
Ground floor 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 
First floor 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼
Second floor 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼
Third floor 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 & private feeding rooms

John Lewis
Ground floor 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 
First floor 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 
Second floor 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 & Parents' Room

Debenhams
Second floor 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 & Parents & Baby Room

Marks & Spencer
Ground floor  Accessible🚾🚼 & Parents & Baby Room
First floor 🚺🚹 🚼 & Parents & Baby Room

Eldon Garden:
🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼
On the upper and lower mall

On or near Northumberland Street:

Burger King (Northumberland Street) 🚺🚹Accessible🚾
City Library 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 and accessible changing room
Costa Coffee (Northumberland Street)
Laing Art Gallery 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼
McDonalds (Northumberland Street) 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼
Marks and Spencer (it has a Northumberland St entrance) 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 & Parents & Baby Rooms

On or near Grainger Street:
Grainger Market


Near Haymarket Metro station
Great North Museum: Hancock 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼
Hatton Gallery 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼
Newcastle Civic Centre 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 and accessible changing room


Near Monument Metro station
Fenwick - lower ground floor, accessible via the station concourse 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼


Near Central Station
Central station, near train ticket office 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 
Discovery Museum 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 and accessible changing room
Centre for Life 🚺🚹Accessible🚾🚼 


I hope this guide is helpful for your next venture into our wonderful city!

References/research:
NE1 Use Our Loos
AccessAble
Intu
Individual business websites