Lady’s Aldwych Tube Station Tour

Today I want to bring you my review of the Aldwych tube station tour. This disused London Underground station is a great place to dig into the city’s past and get a glimpse into what the UK capital’s abandoned tube stations look like.

Aldwych Tube Station

Like most Londoners, I spend half my waking life on the tube. Smooth travels, delayed journeys, and multiple transfers are part of the daily routine.

With so much time spent underground, it would seem logical that I would only elect to enter a tube station if I had somewhere to go.

But yesterday I went to a station from which no trains have operated for years. It was one of the city’s famous abandoned Underground stops: Aldwych tube station in London.

Aldwych Station History

Aldwych tube station opened in 1907 as a spur of the Piccadilly line from Holborn.

The station was originally called Strand station due to its location on the street of the same name, but its title was changed to Aldwych after a naming conflict with what’s now Charing Cross tube station.

Aldwych was famous during World War II for acting as an air raid shelter for hundreds of Londoners during the Blitz.

It was open until 1994, when the cost of necessary improvement works exceeded the projected revenues of the station.

Since then Aldwych tube station has been abandoned, frozen in time as it was left when it closed to the public.

Aldwych Tube Station Tour

Yesterday I had a chance to visit the station as part of a Station Open Day put on by the London Transport Museum (you can book a ticket here).

The Aldwych tube station tour took me and other participants across the threshold of the red-glazed exterior, through the green-and-cream tiled booking office area, and down 160 steps to the historic train platforms.

There we were given quick lectures by six volunteers. The topics ranged from history to training.

One told us about the station’s conversion into a storage facility for 300 paintings from the National Gallery during World War I and thousands of artworks from the V&A and British Museum during World War II.

Another talked about Aldwych station’s current use as a training facility for emergency services staff, filming location for James Bond movies, and function as a testing ground for how posters, paint, and tile would look in other stations.

Aldwych Underground Station Highlights

One of the tunnels had a Northern Line train from the 1970s on its tracks, and we learned that it was still functional between Aldwych station and Holborn if needed.

Back up the stairs, we saw the old abandoned elevator shafts. They were prime examples of Victorian (over) engineering, and reminded me of Tower Bridge.

Once the tour of Aldwych tube station was over, we walked through the wooden elevators and followed the historic signs to the exit.

Aldwych Tube Station: The Verdict

As I left, I was glad to have had the chance to visit the abandoned tube station and see a place that played such a big role in everything from World War II to James Bond films.

If you want to see Aldwych tube station in London, you can book a ticket here. If they ever open other abandoned stations for visits, I might just have to go below ground again despite having no need to travel.

Find this post helpful? Buy me a coffee!

New here? Join thousands of others and subscribe to the A Lady in London blog via email.

Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links. At no cost to you, I earn a small commission when you click on them and make a purchase. It doesn’t affect the way you shop, and it’s a great way to support the A Lady in London blog.

Pin it!