Abandoned Tube: Aldwych Station Tour

The mythical ghost tube-stop they call Aldwych is opening its disused doors for a few select dates this June, with tickets going on sale on Monday 10th February. These tours, a yearly fixture in the London Transport Museum’s special events calendar, are always exceptionally popular and sell out in the blink of an eye.

It’s one of around 40 disused tube stations in London and only a handful that are occasionally accessible to the public. The erstwhile terminus of a wee offshoot of the Piccadilly line, the station they used to call Strand opened in November 1907, shuntering off into a chequered life which saw it used as a public bomb shelter during the Blitz as well as a cache for treasures of the British Library.  For the last 30 years of its life it ran a peak-hours only service, before finally succumbing to a dearth of passengers in 1994. Today there’s naught to signpost its presence other than the remnants of a discreet frontage on the junction of the Strand and Surrey Street.

But as romantic as that sounds, Aldwych is no stranger to the trample of feet. In the last few years it’s hosted the hurly-burly of film crews from the BBC’s Sherlock and Mr Selfridge, well as the major Hollywood adaptations of V for Vendetta and Atonement. With a track record for playing itself and other stations down to a T, it’s deserving of a hefty IMDB of its own.

Tickets go on sale on Monday 10 February (time unannounced but best to get in there as soon as you can). They come with a special 50% reduction to tickets for the London Transport Museum itself - a stone's throw away on the Covent Garden Piazza.

Remember: Sturdy footwear only !