Highgate Tube Station, London Uk📍

The abandoned Highgate tube station on the London Underground is located in the Haringey district of north London. The popular tube line was constructed by the Great Northern Railway and initially opened in 1867; however, it was later taken over by the London Underground and added to the Northern Line in 1941.

Highgate was operational well into the 1950s. The station was deemed to be too small to accommodate the longer trains that were being introduced on the Northern Line. It was decided that it would be shut down and a new, larger station would be built nearby in its place.

Urban explorers like to stop at the North London stop to admire its history and it's still largely in tact today. On the station's abandoned platforms and tunnels, visitors can still see the original tiling, posters, and other details from the station's early years. One of the station's unique features being the original cast-iron lift.

The abandoned station has served a number of other purposes over the years, such as providing as a setting for films and as a place to store priceless artwork during World War II. Despite being out of use, it continues to be a significant piece of London's transport history and a fascinating window into the past of the city.

Travel:

Travelling to Highgate was another very easy journey as it puts you right on the doorstep of the historical station.

I started my journey at Dartford railway station and jumped on Southeastern Line to London Bridge- this took me roughly 40 minutes, before I changed to a Northern line tube from the station to High Barnet getting off at the newer Highgate station taking me approximately 25 minutes.

Once out of the station I was immediately met with a fence line that covers the old platforms, to which I took a stroll around before I made my descent down the hill towards the tunnels.

Again, I recommend wearing appropriate footwear as this is a wooded area and climbing down the hills can be quite tricky, and slippery.

Come with me and Domas to explore...

Having the opportunity to travel to this sweet little spot was absolutely amazing, and I would love to return to Highgate again in the near future. Getting off the newer built tube and coming up from the station made me feel a wave of excitement- smelling the fresh, green air after having to sit and breathe the tube station toxins in for several minutes made me ready to get going. When we left the station we chucked a right and began to walk up this small alleyway until we reached a point in the fence line that we could hop over; we scrambled over the fence post and foraged our way through the greenery, before sliding down a muddy over grown bit of hill.

We didn't realise that the hill we slid down was actually the old rail tunnels, due to us not being able to see with all the fresh undergrowth covering the pathway. Once on the ground we looked up above us to see these towering arches filled with boards and graffiti; the original brickwork was still in tact and looked incredibly intricate.

Turning around from the main arches we were greeted with the platforms of the old, overgrown, graffiti covered station itself. The colours of the paintings and green hues from the surrounding forest complimented each other gorgeously, it made standing on the end of the platform seem like a dream. It stretched no longer than 30 metres and was sheltered by a concrete roof, the same as it has done for the past 155 years. The old tracks unfortunately have been covered up and the tunnels blocked but nonetheless it felt like I was stepping out onto a newly opened station.

Alongside the tracks were two little rail house shacks- one yellow brick, and the other had a more rustic look- being white and black painted wood panels. Of course due to this being a well known spot for explorers, and idiotic kids, there were no windows, some covered in old bars that would have once prevented breaking and entering when the station was operational.

I wandered around the shacks to take some photographs and found that they had a back entrance- they were both connected by a long corridor with a set of carpeted stairs in the middle the downstairs area of the first house was an old kitchen area and what seemed to be a living room of sorts, but there was no furniture left to confirm that. In the kitchen all of the appliances, even the fridge, had been ripped from the walls and the cupboard doors left open to freely swing in the breeze that the nonexistent windows let through- it was lovely to see the remains of the room and feel as though I am apart of the quiet history of the station.

Moving up from the single story shack, we walked along a long slender corridor that had graffiti leaping off the walls at us, and up the blue carpet stairs before being set back onto the corridor; Around the stairway you could see the remains of the patterned wallpaper peeling its way off the wall, the last of the shacks original colour fading away.

This second piece of hallway had four rooms in total, the first being a bathroom, with a tub still fully intact, silver faucets, and what seemed to be an electric shower still strongly hung on the wall. It was crazy to stand in front of it and just think about when this room was still in use. The second and third rooms are what once were bedrooms, with old fashioned blue shutters on the windows, and the remains of cabinets/wardrobes in the corners; I believe the shutters were put on the windows in the second world Second World War during the blackout. The fourth room had most of its walls missing making it impossible to tell what it once was, but the light of the afternoon sun shining through the shreds lit up the room immaculately, showing nature reclaiming what once was hers.

I would rate this location a solid 7/10! I loved everything about it, however it is not too far from the main road making it a prime spot for the public to destroy- I had to scare several people off whilst filming to prevent anyone from causing damage to it.

However, I did not get to finish filming at this location, hence why the vlog I so short... Both me and Domas left the old station to film at another location and decided we would return later to do some filming with the drone. We were gone for no longer than two hours and upon our return, we were greeted by fleets of fire trucks and police cars taping off the road to the station. Shortly after we left a few children no older than 14 came down to muck about by the old shacks, and ended up committing arson. Both rail houses went up in horrendous flames, all just as we had come back.

I dread to think what state the station is now, both shacks are gone and I am currently unsure of the damage to the rest of the site- I will be returning in about a weeks time to investigate the damage and see the difference at the station. Although I am unsure if it will be accessible, with it being a condemned site now, and the police watching it closely as an arson crime scene.

I am the last ever person to capture, and document the station in its original form. No one will ever walk the hallways of the history ridden shacks again. I'm rather mortified that they're now gone but I also feel very privileged to have been the last person to photograph the beauty and explore the halls.