HIDDEN LONDON
London Transport Museum’s popular tours of the capital’s disused Tube stations return
After almost two years on hold, London Transport Museum is excited to announce that it is once again running its exclusive tours to forgotten parts of the underground “Tube” train network, including Down Street, Euston, Aldwych and Moorgate stations.
Hidden London tours allow visitors unique access to many underground sites that have no other public access, so they are a must for anyone looking to try something new in the British capital. Down Street, one of the most secretive sites, is best known for the role it played during the Second World War, when it covertly transformed into the Railway Executive Committee’s bombproof headquarters, where Prime Minister Winston Churchill secretly took refuge at the height of the Blitz.
Parts of Euston lie as a time capsule from the 1960s, when a labyrinth of tunnels lying below the current station were taken out of service. Along these dark passageways, you will get to see a gallery of preserved vintage advertising posters including the likes of the original West Side Story. The tour also looks at Euston’s future as the London terminus of the planned HS2 high-speed railway, which will provide links to London from the Midlands and northwest of England.
Meanwhile, the under-used Aldwych has been permanently closed to the public since 1994. As you enter the station, you will see the original ticket hall, lifts and abandoned platforms. In more recent years, Aldwych has found a new life as a setting for film and TV shoots, including 2017 Oscar-winning film Darkest Hour and 2018 Agatha Christie adaptation, The ABC Murders. Follow in the footsteps of the stars as you explore this iconic station for yourself.
Finally, Moorgate was one of London’s first underground stations when it opened to the public more than 150 years ago. Remarkable redesigns and station upgrades have left behind disused tunnels, abandoned track and a complete Greathead, a tunnel-cutting shield that is the last of its kind on the London Underground network.
Winston Churchill secretly took refuge in the Tube at the height of the Blitz