Credit: The London Tunnels/DBOX
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Hidden beneath the streets of our city is thousands of years worth of history. And although we all know it’s there, it’s pretty rare that we mere mortals are invited down to have a sneak peek of it, right? But in the not too distant future, a secret network of underground tunnels are set to reopen to the public for the first time in 70 years in the form of a shiny new tourist destination.
The tunnels in question are the former Kingsway Exchange Tunnels – a mile-long labyrinth of underground passageways, nestled nearly 100-feet beneath the streets of London. They were originally built to serve as a deep-level air raid shelter for Londoners during The Blitz, and they were also used as a Special Operations bunker during the later stages of WWII.
The tunnels were repurposed during the Cold War and used as a covert telephone exchange (complete with the first ever transatlantic phone cable). So, they’re filled to the brim with stories and secrecy. And Londoners could soon be invited in for a piece of the mysterious action, and a drink at (what will hopefully be) the deepest bar in the UK.
The tunnels have been sat vacant for a pretty long time, having been taken over by BT in the eighties and put up for sale again in 2008. They’ve now been snapped up by The London Tunnels, who plan to transform the network of subterranean passages into London’s next cultural attraction. And the tunnels will soon undergo a hefty £120 million makeover, ready to open to the public at the start of 2028.
The London Tunnels have teamed up with the architectural aficionados over at WilkinsonEyre for the project. Together they want to give the abandoned tunnels a new lease of life and a fresh sense of public purpose. Measuring 25-feet in diameter (the equivalent of three London buses) and span around 8000 square-metres beneath High Holborn; there’s certainly plenty of room.
Credit: The London Tunnels
Visitors will supposedly be able to enter the attraction using lifts with wrap-around LED screens. The tunnels are set to be decked out with giant screens, interactive structure, and some pretty high-tech immersive features that will recreate the sights, sounds, and smells of the tunnels during its wartime past, offering a unique historical heritage experience for visitors.
The tunnels are also set to boast the UK’s deepest bar, serving up ‘shaken, not stirred’ Vesper Martinis as a nod to the fact that Ian Fleming was thought to have used the tunnels as his inspiration for the ‘Q Branch’ in his iconic James Bond novels.