(Newswire.net — January 23, 2020) — Hidden London tours are exposing the surprising history of abandoned stations, from Churchill’s sleeping quarters during the Blitz, to an underground vegetable farm.
The London Transport Museum is offering an exclusive programme of tours of the hidden parts of the London Underground. For a limited time only, expert guides are taking members of the public into secret sites and redundant “ghost stations” to explore parts of the underground rarely seen by the public.
Interested commuters are likely to be shocked by some of the hidden secrets of the Tube. Some of the ‘forgotten’ sections of the underground system have been repurposed since their closure as bomb shelters, film sets and vegetable farms.
Experiential gift company Truly Experiences, who offers the experience on their website, has revealed some of the most interesting facts to be learnt on the tour, which can be read here.
The exhibition shows the monumental roles the subterranean railway has played in England’s history. As well as having more than 1000 bodies from the plague buried beneath the network of tunnels, abandoned stations have acted as popular film locations, a protected habitat for bats and even a top-secret dining room for Winston Churchill.
The tours include a choice of several disused stations, including Aldwych Station, which has been closed to the public since 1994. The disused tube station opened in 1907 and was used as a bomb shelter for the public seeking refuge during the Blitz. Visitors of the exhibition will go behind secret doors, to passage ways and lift shafts to see what life was like for women and children living deep underground.
As well as people, Aldwych Station acted as a place of shelter for national treasures during the War. In order to protect them from bombing, the British Museum and other important galleries hid valuable artworks such as the Elgin Marbles at abandoned stations.
Down Street Station was secretly transformed into the emergency headquarters of the Railway Executive Committee during the War, where up to 40 people slept and worked underground. A section of the abandoned station was repurposed into the sleeping quarters for Sir Winston Churchill as he sought refuge from bombing. Visitors of the exhibition will discover how Churchill smoked cigars, drank brandy and dined on caviar in his secret bunker.
Today abandoned stations have taken on several new roles. Aldwych Station has acted as filming locations for V for Vendetta, while disused areas of Charing Cross can be seen in James Bond’s Skyfall. Aldwych Station is also used by the police and fire brigade for training.
A certain disused section of Clapham North has been transformed into the world’s first subterranean vegetable farm. Growing Underground is a hydroponic farm that uses LED technology to grow microgreens and salad leaves 33 metres below ground. Their produce can be found in major supermarkets, such as Waitrose and M&S.