For years I commuted to work in London on the underground to Euston station. I’d walk through its miles of tunnels and down to the Northern Line every day – usually on autopilot and hardly noticing where I was. But I never knew I’d been walking right past the entrance to a network of Euston’s lost tunnels, some of which have been sealed off for over 100 years.
Most of the time these underground tunnels are locked away and inaccessible to the public, but every now and then special Hidden London tours run by the London Transport Museum let you get a glimpse into the hidden tunnels and ventilation shafts right below our feet. When I found out I couldn’t resist a trip underground to uncover Euston’s secret tunnels.
Read more: Hidden London tours: The secrets of Down Street Tube station

Vintage station posters
The history of Euston Tube station
Euston station opened in July 1837 as the terminus of the new London & Birmingham Railway, which connected London and the Midlands for the first time. Back in those days the station only had two platforms – one for arrivals and one for departures. Later on more routes were added to Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and passenger numbers grew and grew.
In 1903, two rival companies were given permission to build underground railway stations at Euston so they could take advantage of all this extra traffic. But they weren’t allowed to build an entrance inside the station. Instead two separate stations were built, with one on each side of the mainline station and a shared underground ticket office built in between them.

Euston’s secret tunnels
In 1914, the two underground railway companies were merged and their station buildings were closed. The City and South London Railway building was demolished, but the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway’s original station is still standing – and was the starting point for our tour of Euston’s lost tunnels. Located in Melton Street to the west of Euston, I’d probably walked past the building plenty of times over the years without ever noticing it.
But it still has that classic London Underground look, designed by architect Leslie Green who’s responsible for designing 50 Tube stations in the mid 1900s, with their distinctive arched windows and ox-blood red tiles. The building’s still in tact from the outside, but all that’s left inside now is a huge ventilation shaft that helps cool the Victoria Line platforms down.

The old lift shaft turned ventilation
Hidden London’s Euston’s Lost Tunnels tour
Before setting off on the tour, our group were kitted out in yellow high-vis jackets. You’re also advised to wear closed shoes – and probably want to avoid wearing white as it’s pretty grimy underground. Our journey into Euston’s secret tunnels started in one of the less mysterious ones – the Bank branch of the Northern Line. But we left the commuters behind on the platform and followed our guide through an unassuming door at the end of the platform.
When we emerged on the other side, we’d gone back in time. Inside was a network of old tunnels and ventilation shafts. Some were abandoned in the 1960s and some go even further back. Some are brightly lit and piled up with tools and spares, and others are dark, deserted and dusty.

A bit of mood lighting
The tunnels are a time capsule of what was happening when the platforms were closed. Posters from the 1960s show films, plays and products that were being advertised then – from Psycho to perms. There’s even a poster announcing the station redevelopment that led to these tunnels closing. ‘London Transport regrets any inconvenience caused’ – some things don’t change!
The tour takes you through different sections of tunnels, with a guide to explain what each was used for and when it was closed. We were on a special extended photography tour, so our group of eight was split into four pairs and was given 20 minutes to spend in each section, long enough to really explore each area and uncover – and photograph – its hidden details.

1960s posters
First up was the old lift shafts, now used as ventilation shafts for the Tube. They stretch 18 metres high, with a maintenance ladder running to the top. There’s a hatch up there and I could imagine someone scaring the passengers by suddenly popping up out of the ground. Walking on through the tunnels, we came to one of Euston’s unique quirks – its underground ticket hall.
This was the crossover point between the two original underground railways, where passengers had to pay to swap from one line to the other. And if they tried to sneak by, the office had windows built into the sides so the ticket inspector could spot any fare-dodgers. It’s really well preserved with all of its original tiling – and I couldn’t resist trying out the window.

Euston’s underground ticket office
As well as the old passenger tunnels and platforms, we also got to walk through some of the ventilation tunnels. These were never designed to be seen by the public, so there were no posters or tiles, just an industrial landscape of metal tubes and bolts, coated with years of grime. With just a few bulbs hanging down and no one else around they felt spookily atmospheric.
In some sections we had to find our way by torchlight, past bricked up doors and dead ends – you could imagine how claustrophobic it’d be down there if you didn’t have someone guiding you. Our final stop was a zig-zag walkway with ventilation grills looking down on the Victoria Line platform, where you could see trains coming and going, and passengers getting on and off. So if you ever feel like someone’s watching you on the Tube platform, they could be!

The deserted ventilation tunnels
Two hours later, we emerged back onto the Northern Line platform, shook off the dust, handed back our high-vis jackets and found ourselved back in the 21st century. It was a fascinating look into some of the Tube’s secrets and how much underground London has changed over the years.
The twists and turns of the Tube tunnels start to make sense when you look at how it grew over time. And it’s always evolving – new HS2 and Crossrail lines mean Euston is being redeveloped again, and the station layout keeps changing. Even the old Melton Street building is scheduled for demolition, so there might not be many more chances to uncover Euston’s secret tunnels.

Adverts for train travel
The details
Euston’s Lost Tunnels is one of the London Transport Museum’s Hidden London tours, which cover eight different underground sites across the city. The Euston tour costs £41.30 per person (£36.50 concessions) for the regular 75-minute tour, or £100 for the 2.5-hour photography tour, and all tickets include a one-day pass to London Transport Museum.
Hidden London tickets go on sale a few times a year and usually sell out fast, so it’s worth signing up to the mailing list to get notified when the next batch will be released. Please note the tour involves stairs, small spaces and uneven pathways, and there are no toilets on the route.
34 Comments
Janis
August 10, 2017 at 12:47 pmThis is fascinating, I love the fact that it is just like they closed the door one day and left everything as it was.
I would love to go on one of these trips, so thanks, I have now subscribed to their mailing list.
Thanks for sharing
Lucy
August 10, 2017 at 1:01 pmIt was so interesting, definitely recommended – I’m hoping to take my Dad on the Down Street one next as those tunnels were used by Winston Churchill in WWII so has some great stories. Hope you manage to get on a tour soon.
Amy Tinson
August 11, 2017 at 10:23 amWow, that looks so interesting!! It’s like stepping in to history! Never heard of doing that before but think we’ll have to the next time we’re in London, thanks for sharing. ☺️
Lucy
August 14, 2017 at 11:01 pmThanks Amy, I think I read about the tours years ago but it took me ages to get around to it – I definitely have the bug now and want to do another one!
Greg
August 11, 2017 at 3:42 pmSo interesting- I don’t know why, but I always find dark, abandoned places mysterious and fascinating. Just trying to imagine the people, crowds and trains that once bustled through those tunnels in the 19th Century. If I’m back in London again I’ll definitely have to take this tour!
Lucy
August 14, 2017 at 11:02 pmThere’s definitely something interesting in these little hidden spots that people pass by every day and never know are there!
Angus Matheson
August 12, 2017 at 7:08 amIt’s not often that you get to read about something you had never heard of before. A great article and some superb photographs as well. I travel from the north west via Euston a few times every year; I’ll think of Euston in a different light now. Thank you!
Lucy
August 14, 2017 at 11:03 pmThanks – it was fascinating to see another side of a station I used to pass through almost every day for about four years!
Ladies What Travel (@LadiesWTravel)
August 15, 2017 at 4:23 pmI’ve always wanted to do one of these tours Lucy, but never got round to it! I’ve always been worried I’d struggle getting about on the stairs, but it sounds like you didn’t have to climb any old escalators, am I right? If so, how tough would you say it is on the legs? I may well try and sign up for a future one if it sounds doable! 😀 K x
Lucy
August 16, 2017 at 7:02 pmI think the amount of steps varies – for ours there weren’t that many at all but I’ve seen warnings on others about there being a lot. We accessed directly from the Euston platforms so you can use the escalators then there were just a few short sections of steps inside, no more than in a usual Tube station though x
Mary
August 16, 2017 at 10:51 amWow, how interesting! London is so full of rich, unique history like this, and its always a delight to learn about new facts about one the greatest cities in the world. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Lucy
August 16, 2017 at 7:02 pmYou’re very welcome, it was such an interesting experience!
aeparker81
August 17, 2017 at 7:18 pmThis is wonderful! I walk past the old Strand station twice a day and often wonder what it must be like in the abandoned bits!
Lucy
August 23, 2017 at 1:28 pmSeems like there’s a whole secret world underground!
Suzanne Jones
August 18, 2017 at 11:21 pmIt’s amazing that it’s just been left as it was on the day it closed. Love that the old posters are still there too. You look very at home in that ticket office!
Lucy
August 23, 2017 at 1:36 pmHaha yes I can always change career if I have enough of blogging one day!
Sara @ Travel Continuum
August 19, 2017 at 1:09 pmI saw a book about the secret underground a few years back – it wasn’t just about disused sections, but also featured some of the unknown interconnecting corridors not in public use. Utterly fascinating, and right up my street, loved this, Lucy.
Lucy
August 23, 2017 at 1:38 pmThat sounds like my type of book too (in fact I just went on a trawl around Amazon and have found a few underground-related books to add to the reading list!).
Kathryn Burrington
August 20, 2017 at 5:51 pmThis does sound fascinating and really quite creepy. I’m sure if I went I’d keep thinking I was in a horror film.It would be a great setting for one.
Lucy
August 23, 2017 at 1:46 pmIt would be such a good setting for a creepy film or book – some areas we could only see with torches and I could imagine how spooky it’d feel on your own.
Hello Beautiful Bear
August 27, 2017 at 10:38 pmThis is amazing! I’d love to do something like this, like you said it’s like going in to a time capsule, it looks like it’s seeped in history — so interesting! x
Lucy
August 28, 2017 at 9:11 amThanks, yes it was fascinating to see a different side of the Tube – have spent so much time down there over the years!
Your Travel Shop
September 6, 2017 at 7:30 amWow these amazing pictures reminds me one of the Will Smith Movies “I am Legend” where the entire city was empty due to some virus and he was the only person there. Sites like these excites me when I think that there must be a time when people was using these tunnels and now they are abandoned for 100 of years. Would love to visit these. These are a part of beautiful history.
Lucy
September 8, 2017 at 10:00 amYes it’s a strange feeling to see these places totally deserted like that – fascinating though and definitely worth a visit.
Paul
October 13, 2017 at 10:52 amJust wow! Another destination that I want to try and list on my bucket list. This is so amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Lucy
October 15, 2017 at 3:32 pmThanks, it was so interesting, I’m really keen to do some of the other tours now!
Knackered Dad
October 24, 2017 at 2:17 pmA great read! It’s officially on my to-do list.
I’m surprised with London getting busier & busier by the year that they don’t recommission these old lines & tunnels? Money, I guess.
Lucy
October 25, 2017 at 10:16 pmI think it’d be such a huge job to get them up to modern standards and there’s already so much maintenance to do on the existing tube lines – good for us as it leaves some cool places to explore!
Alex
December 18, 2017 at 8:58 amThis is amazing! I’d love to do something like this, like you said it’s like going in to a time capsule, it looks like it’s seeped in history — so interesting!
Lucy
December 20, 2017 at 11:05 pmIt really was fascinating – such an usual way to see London!
Jay
March 31, 2019 at 4:44 pmI really like the old posters on the walls and the aged decay, nice shots really frames the article quite well
Lucy
April 15, 2019 at 8:25 pmThanks, it was a fascinating tour – I’m doing another later this year and can’t wait.
MARTIN
April 17, 2019 at 8:46 amSo much History within the underground network and one of the best Highlights throughout London for any visitor traveling the City.
Lucy
April 24, 2019 at 8:52 amIt is a fascinating place – so many interesting stories.