Have you ever had eyes on you as you ventured toward your connecting hose – that’s because someone might have been looking.
London is known for its beautiful skyline where the past meets the present, with world-famous skyscrapers and historic buildings in close proximity.
The capital is also known for its vast and complicated network of tunnels that lie beneath the surface.
Less widely shared are the various unused and forgotten tunnels, through which large numbers of passengers unknowingly pass every day.
Since 2022, the public was allowed to walk through these old passages again when the London Transport Museum began offering tours through the century, with one TikToker deciding to explore one of the old underpasses that the time – and Londoners – forgot.
London’s extensive and complicated network is famous, but the hidden ancient tunnel in Shepherd’s Bush, which allows you to spy on unsuspecting commuters, is not (Photo: Shepherd’s Bush)
TikToker Dan revealed that Shepherd’s Bush features gray and dusty tunnels that have remained largely unused for centuries
The content creator revealed that these dusty passages let you spy on unsuspecting passengers as they make their daily journey
Content creator Dan Thomas ventured into the depths of underground London and decided to take a look at the dusty, unused floors of the hidden tunnels in Shepherd’s Bush.
Although the cobweb-covered tunnels – which closed a hundred years ago in 1924 – are largely useless, Dan revealed that you can spy on unwitting passengers through barred gates.
The primary use of these tunnels now is for storage, escape routes or to assist with track construction work.
The gigantic industrial metal stairs, hanging cables and dark gray walls are in stark contrast to the well-lit, white-tiled tunnels that commuters travel through today.
Like the unused tunnels, Shepherd’s Bush station has a rich history, first opening its doors in 1900.
It formed part of the western terminus – a new section of the Central London Railway – known today as the Central Line.
The station was an important part of London’s transport system, connecting the western suburbs with the city.
At the time, commuters could also travel further west on the same ticket, meaning that Shepherd’s Bush Station was one of the main hubs for London Transport in the early 20th century.
Likewise, the ticket that allowed commuters to travel further west on the tram at no extra cost paved the way for the Oyster card.
Shepherd’s Bush Station was one of the main hubs for London Transport in the early 20th century, connecting the western suburbs with the city (photo: Sherpherd’s Bush in 1900)
Shepherd’s Bush isn’t the only location in London with creepy, cobweb-filled tunnels that have been largely forgotten (photo: disused Down Street tunnel – Winston Churchill’s former air raid shelter)
The London Transport Museum runs guided tours of the haunted Aldwych, Baker Street and Down Street tunnels (photo: a disused tunnel in Down Street)
There are currently no tours of the terrifying unused tunnels of Shepherd’s Bush available, but the London Transport Museum does run tours of the forgotten passages at Aldwych, Baker Street and Down Street – which served as an air raid shelter for Winston Churchill during the Second World War.
However, these are not the only abandoned parts of the London Underground network with a rich history.
Brompton Road station was so rarely used by commuters that Tube drivers bypassed it completely.
The knowledge that a train would even stop at Brompton Road so confused people that it inspired a West End play with a run of 174 performances.
The station first opened in 1906, but just three years later authorities began to realize that the station was redundant.
But the abandoned transport hub, covered in oxblood tiles, is packed with history and previously served as a command center during the Blitz.
The station was taken over by Winston Churchill’s War Office and acted as a base for the Royal Artillery to control anti-aircraft batteries to protect London from air raids.
Brompton Road (pictured) was so rarely used that tube riders often skipped the stop altogether
Such was the confusion over whether trains would stop at the station that a West End play was even written about it
The station closed its doors for the last time in 1934. Since the war, it has been a base for military hopefuls.
In 2014 it was bought by Ukrainian developer Michael Spink from the Ministry of Defense for £53 million. When he bought the property in 2014, Spink said he hoped to renovate the building into a “very high quality residential development.”
During the war, rooms were built in one of the station’s lift shafts, which eventually served as a base for the Royal Artillery.
From the station, gun emplacements were organized across London as they attempted to shoot down German aircraft flying over the city.
There were even rumors that Hitler’s right-hand man, Rudolph Hess, was being interrogated inside by British authorities.
Among the labyrinth of tunnels you will find converted bunkers with leftover electrical equipment from the war.
Wartime telephone exchanges were left behind, as well as a wartime oxygen scrubber, which was present to clean the air in the event of a gas attack.