Why not give a gift like no other this festive period as tickets are now on sale for the award-winning Hidden London Tours for early 2023 dates.
The special tours explore the secret and forgotten part of London’s Underground network providing attendees with an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience and a view of the capital’s history as never seen before.
Tickets are available for tours taking place between the 4th of January and the 19th of February 2023 and are ideal for Christmas gifts. The popular tours were recently recognised as the ’Best Hidden Gem in the World’ at the Tiqets’ Remarkable Venue Awards this year which is decided via public vote.
Granting special access to locations which are normally out of bounds to the public, London Transport Museum’s Hidden London guided tours are totally unique being the only tours of their kind on the Underground network. The tours feature an array of fascinating destinations such as abandoned ticket halls, secret bunkers, time-capsule corridors and disused platforms. Some of the secret locations lie just feet away from passengers travelling across London whilst those on the tour learn about the city’s history, its people and transport network.
Historical experts based at London Transport Museum write the tours with content from the museum’s vast archive collection providing some fascinating and little-known historical facts for attendees.
Hidden London Tours // Credit: London Transport Museum
Five in-person tours are available in January and February including:
Shepherd’s Bush: Suburbs to the City – The tour revisits the days when the West London station was one of the busiest on the network. Visitors can learn how the station has changed since opening back in 1900 and how its new ticketing system became an ancestor to today’s Oyster Card. The tour also sees Central line design features frozen in time and just out of sight of passengers making their way across London.
Dates: Wednesday to Sunday from the 15th to the 19th of February
Tickets: Adult £44, Concessions £39
Clapham South’s deep-level subterranean shelter -The tour sees an exploration of the Second World War deep-level shelter and its secret labyrinth of underground passages built to accommodate more than 8,000 people. The amazing structure housed several canteens, medical stations and sleeping quarters. The tour also investigates how the space was reused following the war and also shares stories of the first Caribbean migrants who temporarily lived there after arriving on the HMT Empire Windrush.
Dates: Wednesday to Sunday from the 4th to the 15th of January Tickets: Adults £37, Concessions £32, special rates of £32 are available for weekday matinee tours
Moorgate – Metropolitan Maze – Moorgate opened in 1865 and is one of London’s oldest working Underground stations. The station became one of the first extensions on the Metropolitan line and on the tour, visitors can relive the early days of the Tube’s construction where the very first tunnels were dug, discover original glass tiles, abandoned tracks and even a complete Greathead shield from 1904 which is still in position and the only one of its kind on the Network. The tour will also discuss how some of the events that took place there shaped and changed the Underground network through history.
Dates: Wednesday to Sunday between the 18th of January to the 19th of February
Tickets: Adult tickets £52.50 / Concession £47.50
Piccadilly Circus – The Heart of London – This tour will reveal the secret side of Piccadilly Circus, London’s busiest station during the roaring twenties and the flagship of Frank Pick’s Underground. Hidden behind secret doors, visitors will discover deserted passageways, and original Edwardian design features such as lift shafts, as well as learning about the many layers of renovations that have taken place in order to meet the changing needs over the last century.
Dates: Wednesday to Sunday between the 11th of January to the 19th of February. Tickets: Adult tickets £44 / Concession £39
Charing Cross – Access all areas – Visitors can discover what lies behind the closed doors and walk under Trafalgar Square in order to explore exclusive areas of Charing Cross station which are not accessible to the public. This tour will also visit disused parts of the station, such as the Jubilee line platforms that closed in 1999 but may well be recognised from many famous movies and TV productions such as Skyfall (2012), Paddington Bear (2013), and TV’s 24 (2014).
Dates: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from the 18th to the 22nd of January and Wednesday to Sunday from the 25th of January to the 12th of February. Tickets: Adult £44, Concessions £39
Eight virtual Hidden London tours are also on sale and allow guests to tour the secret sites in the comfort of their own homes including:
King William Street Bank – Thursday the 5th of January
Brompton Road – Thursday the 5th of January
Elizabeth line: Liverpool Street – Saturday the 7th of January
Elizabeth line: Tottenham Court Road – Saturday the 7th of January
York Road – Tuesday the 17th of January
Euston – Tuesday the 17th of January
Aldwych – Tuesday the 14th of February
Holborn (Kingsway) – Tuesday the 14th of February
Tickets: Adult £20, Concession £17.50.
For those who prefer to stay overground, London Transport Museums Secrets of Central London walking tour of Covent Garden, Kingsway, Lincoln’s Inn Fields and Victoria Embankment are also available to buy. The walking tour sees expert Hidden London guides reveal captivating facts and obscure historical tales of the area and the many changes it has seen over the last 200 years.
Dates: Various dates on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
Tickets: Adult £20, Concession £17.50.
The tours on sale now also include sites seen on UKTV’s well-loved TV series Secrets of the London Underground which can be seen on the Yesterday channel and via UKTV Play.
Fans of Hidden London can also subscribe to the Hidden London Hangouts YouTube channel by the London Transport Museum team including Chris Nix, Siddy Holloway and Laura Brown. The team are joined by Broadcaster and Tube geek Alex Grundon as the regular series takes viewers behind the scenes of Hidden London as the team explores the many parts of the London Transport network sharing their findings and discoveries through research. The episodes are free and are available via London Transport Museum’s YouTube channel.
To book tickets, please visit www.ltmuseum.co.uk/hidden-london
Hidden London: The Exhibition
Visitors who want to look deeper into the subterranean secrets under London’s street can visit the award-winning Hidden London exhibition which is in the Global Gallery at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden. The exhibition will be open until the middle of 2023.
Adult entrance for the museum is £21 which includes free return daytime entry for an entire year. Kids aged 17 and under go free.
Visitors who receive Pension Credit or Universal Credit can enjoy £1 entry to the museum.
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