The London Transport Museum is celebrating a remarkable milestone this year as its acclaimed Hidden London tour program turns ten. Since its launch in June 2015, these exclusive behind-the-scenes tours have become the only way for curious visitors to access the secret corners of London’s transport network, revealing the fascinating history that lies beneath the city’s streets.
As a long-time London enthusiast, I can personally attest that these Hidden London tours are among the most extraordinary experiences the capital has to offer. Having explored several of these remarkable underground spaces over the years, the combination of knowledgeable guides, fascinating historical context, and access to normally off-limits locations makes them truly unmissable for anyone interested in London’s rich transport heritage.
New Tickets and Refreshed Content
The museum has just released tickets for tours running from April through September 2025, including refreshed experiences at three iconic locations: Charing Cross, Piccadilly Circus, and the disused Aldwych station. These updated tours feature enhanced content drawn from extensive research in Transport for London’s corporate archives and the museum’s own collections.
“We’ve gone back to our archives to uncover even more fascinating stories about these locations,” explains Chris Nix, Assistant Director of Collections and Engagement at London Transport Museum. “Our goal is to continually enhance the visitor experience while preserving these important historical spaces.”
The Aldwych station tour, aptly named “Aldwych: The End of the Line,” has been thoughtfully updated to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Visitors will hear more detailed first-hand accounts from Londoners who sought shelter in the station during World War II air raids. The tour also explores how this disused station served as a sanctuary for national treasures during the Blitz—a little-known aspect of London’s wartime history.
Meanwhile, “Piccadilly Circus: The Heart of London” delves deeper into the station’s architectural evolution, from Leslie Green’s distinctive red-tiled exterior to Charles Holden’s modernist redesign in the 1920s. In an exciting development, this tour now includes access to a previously off-limits area, allowing visitors to follow the footsteps of Edwardian passengers as they made their way to the Bakerloo line.
Perhaps most intriguing for film enthusiasts is the renamed “Charing Cross: Behind the Silver Screen” tour. Despite being closed to regular passengers since 1999, the station’s disused Jubilee line platforms and concourses have featured prominently in productions including “Skyfall,” “Sherlock,” and most recently “One Love.” The revised tour gives visitors more time to experience these cinematic locations, offering fascinating insights into how these underground spaces have been transformed for the camera.
Expanding Access to a Younger Generation
In what might be the most significant change to the program, the Hidden London tours have recently lowered their minimum age requirement from 14 to 10 years old. This welcome adjustment opens these historical adventures to families, allowing a younger generation to develop an appreciation for London’s transport heritage.
Having experienced these tours firsthand, I believe this is a particularly wise decision. The wonder of stepping into a disused station or walking along abandoned platforms ignites a special kind of curiosity that can spark a lifelong interest in history and engineering. For children with an interest in London’s past or transport systems, these tours offer an educational experience unlike any other in the capital.
A Decade of Underground Exploration
When Hidden London launched its first tour of Charing Cross’s disused sections in June 2015, few could have predicted how popular the program would become. Ten years later, the Hidden London portfolio has expanded to include 12 distinct locations across London’s transport network—each offering a unique glimpse into the city’s past.
The success of these tours lies in their exclusivity and authenticity. They remain the only official way to access these closed-off locations, providing an unparalleled opportunity to step into secret parts of London’s underground system. From the labyrinthine passages of Moorgate to the wartime shelters at Clapham South, each location tells a different chapter in London’s storied history.
What makes these tours especially valuable is that they take place where the history actually happened. Walking through the deep-level shelter at Clapham South, visitors can stand in the exact spot where thousands of Londoners sought refuge during the Blitz. At Aldwych, they can see the platforms where priceless artworks from the National Gallery were stored for safekeeping during wartime bombing raids.
Anniversary Celebrations
To mark the program’s 10th anniversary, the London Transport Museum has planned a series of special events throughout 2025. Among the first announcements is “Hidden London Hangouts Live,” scheduled for April 25th at the museum’s Cubic Theatre. The team behind the popular YouTube series will host an in-person showing of an exclusive episode exploring Stockwell station, followed by a Q&A session with experts Chris Nix, Laura Hilton-Brown, and Alex Grundon.
Summer will bring the launch of “Sounds of the Underground,” a new four-episode podcast series taking listeners on immersive audio journeys through iconic Hidden London locations. Each episode will be presented by a different expert from the museum, featuring atmospheric soundscapes and exclusive clips that bring these underground spaces to life for those who haven’t yet experienced them in person.
For collectors and design enthusiasts, the museum shop is developing an exclusive Hidden London retail range inspired by the beautiful tile designs found throughout the underground network. These tiles, with their distinctive patterns and colors, are among the most visually striking elements of London’s transport heritage.
Beyond the Flagship Tours
While the refreshed tours at Charing Cross, Piccadilly Circus, and Aldwych are certain to attract attention, the Hidden London program offers many other fascinating experiences between April and September.
The revamped tour of Clapham South’s Subterranean Shelter now features historically accurate reconstructions of key areas, including a canteen. Led by a guide portraying a 1940s warden, this immersive experience follows the journey of a family spending their first night in the shelter. With additional dates around school holidays and the VE Day anniversary, it’s an ideal choice for families taking advantage of the new lower age limit.
Other available tours include “Moorgate: Metropolitan Maze,” which takes visitors into the “Catacombs” section beneath The Barbican Estate, “Baker Street: The World’s First Underground,” the new “Dover Street: Alight Here for Green Park,” “Euston: the Lost Tunnels,” and “Holborn: The Secret Platforms.” For those who prefer to stay above ground, “Secrets of Central London” offers a walking tour of hidden transport history on the surface.
Supporting London’s Transport Heritage
Beyond providing extraordinary experiences for visitors, these tours serve another vital purpose. All profits from Hidden London go toward funding the London Transport Museum’s charitable work and supporting the conservation of London’s transport and design heritage.
Tickets for tours running until the end of September 2025 are now available through the London Transport Museum’s website. Prices start from £42 for most underground tours, with each ticket including half-price one-day entry to the main London Transport Museum (valid within a month of the tour date) and a 10% discount on all full-priced products at the museum shop.
A Personal Recommendation
Having experienced several Hidden London tours over the years, I cannot recommend them highly enough. Each one offers a unique window into London’s past that simply cannot be accessed any other way. The knowledgeable guides bring history to life with fascinating anecdotes and expert insights, while the exclusive access to these normally closed locations creates a genuine sense of adventure and discovery.
If you’re planning a visit to London in 2025, adding one of these tours to your itinerary would be a decision you’re unlikely to regret. Whether you’re a history buff, a transport enthusiast, a photography lover, or simply someone who enjoys exploring unusual places, Hidden London offers something truly special.
As the program celebrates its first decade and looks toward the future, one thing remains certain: these hidden corners of London’s transport network will continue to captivate visitors for many years to come, preserving and sharing stories from beneath the streets of one of the world’s greatest cities.