Public toilets in Northumberland National Park

Northumberland is England's emptiest national park, and that quiet is exactly why people come, for Hadrian's Wall, the Cheviots and the dark skies over Kielder. It also means toilets are few and far between, so a bit of planning goes a long way here.

Your most dependable stop on the Wall is The Sill at Once Brewed, the park's own discovery centre, where the toilets are free and open daily from 10am to 4pm. Beyond that, the council loos and a network of pubs and cafés in the 'use our loo' courtesy scheme fill the gaps in the villages. Out on the Wall path or up in the Cheviot hills there is very little, sometimes nothing for a long stretch, so use the facilities at the visitor centre or car park before you set off on a section.

Check the map for what's open near your start, particularly if you're walking a long stretch of the Wall or heading into the hills, where the next loo really can be an hour or two away.

Accessibility

The Sill has a Changing Places-standard toilet right on the Wall, and Northumberland County Council has eight more Changing Places across the county, including the Holy Island car park, Seahouses, Berwick town centre, Druridge Bay Country Park and County Hall in Morpeth. The council's accessible toilets are on the RADAR scheme, but the remote stretches of the Wall and the Cheviots have none, so plan around the staffed sites.

Seasonal

Hours change with the season and a few sites close over winter, so check before a shoulder-season trip; Seahouses runs shorter evening hours and Berwick's Magdalene Fields car park toilet shuts from October to March.

Where the gaps are

This is the sparsest park in the network; treat every visitor centre, town and 'use our loo' café as a refuel stop, because the gaps between them are real.