Public toilets in the Broads

Britain's largest protected wetland is a world of slow water, windmills and wide skies, best seen from a boat or a waterside path. The Broads keep their facilities around the boating hubs and staithes: Wroxham, Potter Heigham, Beccles, Horning and Ranworth all have public toilets, and the boatyards and moorings are useful stops if you're afloat.

The catch is that these toilets are run by a patchwork of district and parish councils and local trusts, so opening hours vary from one staithe to the next, and it's worth knowing where the next reliable one is before you set off. A hired day-boat or cruiser will have its own, but the public ones matter the moment you step ashore.

Check the map for what's open near your mooring or your walk, handy in summer when the popular staithes get busy.

Accessibility

Several staithes have accessible toilets, a number of them opened with a RADAR key, including the district-council blocks at Ranworth, Reedham and Salhouse. The nearest Changing Places to the northern Broads is over at Cromer on the coast, so if you need adult changing it's worth planning around that.

Seasonal

Ranworth, Reedham and Salhouse drop to weekends only from late October to the end of March, opening daily again over the festive week, and other staithe and village toilets reduce hours outside the boating season; the main hubs like Wroxham are more reliable year-round.

Where the gaps are

The quieter rivers and bank-side paths have little ashore, so plan around the staithes and boatyards where parking, moorings and toilets come together.