For lovers of history, mystery and intrigue, there’s much more to London than lies on the surface.
For all its charms, Sicilian Avenue isn’t the only historical hidden gem in this corner of London. Beneath the busy streets of Holborn and Bloomsbury lies a hidden world of forgotten tunnels, abandoned platforms, and centuries of secrets that tell tales of wartime resilience and Victorian ingenuity. Few visitors to the area ever realise they’re walking right on top of a web of subterranean thoroughfares, but increasingly these mysterious spaces are being opened to the public.
-
The Secret Platforms
Deep beneath Holborn station lies one of London's most intriguing secrets: a pair of abandoned platforms that once served the Piccadilly line. These eerie spaces, closed since 1917, stood silent for years before finding a new purpose during World War II as a secret bunker and command center. Today, the London Transport Museum opens these mysterious spaces to the public on set dates, offering glimpses into a world frozen in time, complete with original vintage advertising posters and emergency wartime signage. But you’ll need to book ahead.
-
Dark Exchange
This shadowy underground world extends well beyond defunct tube stations. Now, hundreds of millions of pounds are being spent to open up the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels beneath Chancery Lane. Protected until very recently by the UK’s Official Secrets Act, these clandestine tunnels were also built to protect Londoners during the Blitz, but were later used during the Cold War by the secretive Special Operations Executive department, the inspiration for James Bond. You can sign up on The London Tunnels website to keep up to date with news on this unique project.
-
The Lost River
The River Fleet, one of London's most significant subterranean rivers, flows beneath these streets in Victorian-era tunnels. Once a major waterway navigated by Roman vessels, it now runs through massive brick sewers beneath Farringdon Road. During particularly heavy rains, the Fleet can still be heard rushing beneath the streets.
-
A Tragic Legend
Above ground, Bloomsbury harbours its own mysteries, including the Field of the Forty Footsteps, behind the British Museum. The name comes from a tragic 17th-century duel between two brothers, who had fallen madly in love with the same lady. Victorian author John Thomas Smith wrote that the lady “would not declare a preference for either, but coolly sat upon a bank to witness the termination of a duel which proved fatal to both.” The incident was once so famous that it inspired a stage play. According to local lore, no grass would grow where their fatal footsteps fell. While the field itself has long since disappeared beneath modern development, the story remains woven into the fabric of Bloomsbury's history.
These fragments of worlds now lost to us remind us that, beneath Bloomsbury and Holborn’s familiar surface lies another city entirely—one of secrets, shadows, and forgotten stories waiting to be rediscovered.