Hidden Tube Walking Tour of Aldwych Disused Station
Description
Descend over 130 stairs underground to experience a preserved disused Edwardian tube station with your group, You'll be accompanied by two knowledgeable guides who will take you through the history of the station including its use as a WWII shelter and as a storage facility for priceless treasures during the Blitz. Your group you'll visit the original ticket hall, and disused platforms and will hear the first hand oral testimony from one of the WWII shelterers. You'll need a good level of physical fitness to undertake the tour and be able to descend and climb back up 130 stairs. This is your opportunity to experience a very unique space in London and only London Transport Museum can take you there.
Tour Options
Itinerary
London Transport Museum, the world's leading museum of urban transport, invites you to join us on an exclusive guided tour of Aldwych station, one of London’s secret places, holding myths and memories of times gone by. Opened to the public in 1907, it was never as heavily used as originally intended and closed nearly 100 years later in 1994. The station has had a varied history; from providing shelter to Londoners during the Blitz, to being used for film and TV shoots including The ABC Murders (2018), Darkest Hour (2017), Sherlock (2014), and Atonement (2007). Join our tour to see the one of the former termini of the Piccadilly line – the ticket hall, the original lifts, abandoned platforms and tunnels, and inter-connecting walkways – including some that are very rarely seen by the public.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Tours are not suitable for children under 10 years of age
- All guests must bring photo ID
- Open-toed shoes are not allowed
- No food or drinks allowed on the tour
- Please do not bring luggage or large bags - there is no cloakroom
- The tour involves a lot of walking, including areas of uneven ground and low lighting
- Tours are not suitable for guests with claustrophobia
- Tours are not step free and including walking up and down flights of stairs
- There's no elevator
- There is a maximum of four children (aged 10-15 yrs) allowed per adult.
Reviews(34)
A really interesting and fun tour. The guides were clearly interested in the subject matter and engaged well with the people on the tour. It was a well thought out tour and gave the audience a good overview of the station particularly its role in the 1st and 2nd world wars.
Have been wanting to visit this site for years, wasn’t disappointed. Polite, enthusiastic and knowledgeable guides. Only disappointment, unable to walk on the track and into the tunnels.
Sophie was our guide And she had a really good sense of humour and knew what she was talking about Really enjoyed the experience I’ve walked past the disused tube station a few times but it was nice going inside to see what it was really like The stairs in the station are quite steep but it was so worth it Will definitely do another hidden London tour at some point
I have been past Aldwych tube station in the past and often wondered what it was like. I never got to visit when it was in public use so it has eluded me for a long time. I was on the London Transport Museum website and saw there were tours available to see the station and they were on days when I was available so I decided to book up. On the day of the tour it was myself and 24 other people there were two guides and another person to make sure we all stayed together. We were shown round the station's exit and entrance and then went downstairs to the platforms. There are lifts but they are out of use so if you are going to do this tour you need to be able to do a spiral flight of over 100 steps. BEAR THIS IN MIND! Some people on the tour struggled with this. We were shown both platforms and told the history behind the station. The guides were excellent and informative. I came away learning so much about this former station.
Very interesting tour. I gave this four stars because we were told there would be time to take photos but unfortunately there was very limited time. We had to take the majority of photos whilst the guide was speaking. It would have been fab to have a few extra mins at each stage of the tour to take photos. Our tour took approx 80 mins.
Excellent trip, fantastic guide in Emma. Really interesting and highly recommended.
Meeeeeegaaaaaaaa. I'm a tube nerd anyway, but even without being that... you go down in history and it's really unique, I think. Highly recommended
Our guides, Gillian & Chris were brilliant, they clearly both love their job and even though ours was the 5th tour of the day, their enthusiasm and passion was obvious. The knowledge they shared was done in a really clever way, with the help of visuals in various forms at times. I would recommend this tour and would love to book others offered by LTM.
Did the Aldwych/Strand station tour which was fascinating. The chap who was the main tour guide was excellent and the added video shows and old footage really brought it to life. Would thoroughly recommend and will do another Hidden London tour when next in the city.
Friendly, helpful staff who looked after us, many were senior, and presented the information in an easy to follow way. Fee reasonable for the experience which lasted 1 hour 10 mins plus 15 mins admin and briefing at beginning. Quite a few steps to walk back up from platform level (c100), necessitating several stops in the ascent. Crowd about 20 and good atmosphere.
