Being the oldest of its kind in the whole darn world, London’s trailblazing transport network has certainly got some stories to tell. The city’s labyrinth of tubes, tunnels, platforms, and passageways is bursting at the seams with history and mystery – and, in my humble opinion, there’s simply no better way to explore it all than with a ‘Hidden London‘ tour.
Now, if you’re a regular Secret London reader, it’s highly likely that you already know what I’m talking about, as you can often find me over on this little corner of the internet, raving about these rather enthralling excursions. The behind-the-scenes tours come courtesy of the London Transport Museum and give transport-enthusiasts a rare peek behind the curtain turnstiles of some of the most surreptitious sections of the London Underground.
Exploring the fascinating forgotten fragments of our city’s rather intricate transport tapestry, there are a whole host of tours to choose from. But the one that I plan on waxing lyrical about for the next few moments can be found over in Moorgate.
Moorgate: Metropolitan maze
The Moorgate: Metropolitan maze tour allows Londoners to step inside one of the world’s oldest underground stations and explore the abandoned tracks and tunnels that lie within it. Moorgate station originally set up shop back in 1865 as part of the very first extension of the Metropolitan Line, playing a pivotal role in the creation of the deep-level tube system. The guided tour takes visitors into the long-lost labyrinth that was left behind by over 100 years of station redesigns and upgrades.
Giving guests rare access to areas that have been closed to the public for decades, the Moorgate: Metropolitan maze tour lets visitors walk along disused tracks, venture into original corridors (complete with vintage glass tiles and Victorian posters), and discover the incredible ways in which the station has been repurposed to meet the modern-day needs of the city.
Visitors will also have the chance to journey into the Moorgate ‘Catacombs’ that sit beneath the Barbican Estate and hear fascinating stories about how the station served as a freight terminal for multiple railway lines. Sounds pretty darn interesting, right?
Find out more about the Moorgate: Metropolitan maze tours and snap up a ticket here.
