Tunnels built to shelter Londoners during World War II bombings by Germany are set to be transformed into the British capital’s biggest new tourist attraction for years, according to the company that has bought the sprawling network of passages.
The tunnels, which are 1.6 kilometres (one mile) long and tall enough in parts to fit a double-decker bus, lie under Holborn in central London. They were dug by hand starting in late 1940 when German planes were bombing the city almost every day and night in what was known as The Blitz.
Here’s what you need to know about this upcoming attraction.
During The Blitz, Londoners headed into underground train stations for safety. By 1942, when the purpose-built tunnels were finished, The Blitz had ceased, so they were never used for shelter. Angus Murray, the chief executive of The London Tunnels, is a former investment banker who hopes to turn the tunnels into a memorial to The Blitz, which he said would be part museum, exhibition and entertainment space.
Known as the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels, they housed spy headquarters in 1944, when “James Bond” author Ian Fleming worked in them for naval intelligence. The location is believed to have inspired Q Branch, where Bond goes to get his specialist equipment.
Thirty metres (100 feet) down, the underground citadel is a maze of old generators, pipes and rusty bolts. Bundles of wires dangle from the walls, which are dotted with dials, switches and levers. There are also the remains of a staff bar and canteen for the 200 people who worked in the tunnels in the 1950s and 1960s when it served as a telephone exchange.
Since the 1970s, the tunnel network has mostly stood empty. Murray estimates the plan to create a tourist attraction, which was approved by the authorities in 2024, will cost around GBP 120 million (approximately INR 13 billion). His company hopes up to three million people a year will pay over GBP 30 (approximately INR 3,263) each to visit the space.
He likened its expected impact on tourism to the London Eye observation wheel, which opened 25 years ago and attracts more than three million visitors annually.
The tunnels will be ready for the public by late 2027 or early 2028, Murray said, adding they would be operated by an entertainment company familiar with running visitor attractions.
If you can’t wait until then to get down in the city’s bowels, the London Transport Museum runs exclusive guided tours of its abandoned tube stations, including Down Street—a secret underground bunker that helped win World War II.
(With inputs from multiple reports)
