London Transport Trivia

Below you will find many fascinating, interesting and unbelievable facts

 about London's Transport system.

If you know of any trivia that I have missed, or if you spot an error, please, get in touch.

Obviously, with upgrades, new stations, extensions and the ever-changing city, these figures are likely to change, but were correct at the time of writing.

A

• Acton has the most stations, of any town, with seven: Acton Central (Mildmay), Acton Main Line (Elizabeth), Acton Town (District & Piccadilly), East Acton (Central), North Acton (Central), South Acton (Mildmay), West Acton (Central)
• Acton Town is the first station, alphabetically
• Acton Town was originally called Mill Hill Park
• Albert Gunter 'jumped' his No. 78 bus over Tower Bridge as it was opening, to avoid a catastrophe, in December 1952.
• Alcohol was banned on the network in June 2008
• Aldgate station is built on a plague pit where over 1,000 bodies were buried, in 1665
• Alperton was originally called Perivale-Alperton
• Amersham is the highest station above sea level, at 150 metres (492 feet)
• Angel station has the longest escalators on the network, and in the UK, with a vertical rise of 27 metres (90 feet) and a length of 61 metres (200 feet)
• Archway was originally called Highgate, then Archway (Highgate), then Highgate (Archway)
• Arnos Grove station was inspired by the Stockholm Public Library
• Arsenal was originally called Gillespie Road, then Arsenal (Highbury Hill)

B

• Baker Street has the most platforms, with 10
• Bakerloo line has 25 stations
• Bakerloo line is 23.2 km (14.4 miles) long
• Bakerloo line opened on March 10, 1906
• Balham is the only station on the network that contains none of the letters from the word ‘underground’
• Bank station has two moving walkways
• Bank was originally called City
• Barbican was originally called Aldersgate Street, then Aldersgate, then Aldersgate & Barbican
• Bayswater became Bayswater (Queen's Road) & Westbourne Grove, then Bayswater (Queen's Road), with the suffix gradually dropped 
• Becontree was originally called Gale Street
• Boston Manor was originally called Boston Road
• Brent Cross was originally called Brent
• British Museum (disused) sits between Tottenham Court Road and Holborn, but it hasn’t been used since 1932
• Bromley-by-Bow was originally called Bromley
• Burnt Oak became Burnt Oak (for Watling), with the suffix gradually dropped
• Bus route 24 is London's oldest, still running bus route, between Pimlico and Hampstead Heath

C

• Cable Car has 2 stations
• Cable Car is 3,600 ft (1.100 m) long
• Cable Car opened on July 4, 2012
• Canons Park was originally called Canons Park (Edgware)
• Central line has 49 stations
• Central line has the longest single journey, from West Ruislip to Epping, at 54.5 km (34 miles)
• Central line is the longest underground line at 74 km (46 miles) long
• Central line opened on July 30, 1900
• Chalfont & Latimer to Chesham is the longest distance between stations, at 6.3 km (3.9 miles)
• Chalfont & Latimer was originally called Chalfont Road
• Chancery Lane became Chancery Lane (Grays Inn), with the suffix gradually dropped
• Chancery Lane has the shortest escalator, which has only 50 steps
• Charing Cross (Bakerloo line) was originally called Trafalgar Square
• Charing Cross has the most exits to street level, with 13
• Charing Cross was created in 1979, when Trafalgar Square and Strand stations were merged
• Charles Holden took inspiration from the Moscow Metro for his design of Gants Hill station
• Chesham is the furthest station from central London, at 40 km (25 miles)
• Chesham is the most northerly station on the network
• Chesham is the most westerly station on the network
• Chiswick Park was originally called Acton Green, then Chiswick Park & Acton Green
• Chorleywood was originally called Chorley Wood, then Chorley Wood & Chenies, before becoming Chorleywood
• Circle line has 36 stations
• Circle line is 27 km (17 miles) long
• Circle line opened in 1863, but wasn't completed until 1884. It became the Circle line in 1936
• Circle line stopped being a true circle in 2009
• Clapham North was originally called Clapham Road
• Cockney rhyming slang for the Tube is ‘The Oxo’, as in 'Oxo cube'
• Covent Garden to Leicester Square is the shortest journey on the network, with the platforms just 260 metres (853 feet) apart
• Croxley was originally called Croxley Green

D

• Dagenham East was originally called Dagenham
• Dagenham Heathway was originally called Heathway
• Debden was originally called Chigwell Road, then Chigwell Lane
• District line has the most stations, with 60
• District line is 64 km (40 miles) long
• District line opened on December 24, 1868
• District line rail maps were originally published, in the 19th century, with the maxim 'Time is Money' on the cover.
• Docklands Light Railway has 45 stations
• Docklands light Railway is 38 km (24 miles) long
• Docklands Light Railway opened on August 31, 1987
• Down Street station (disused) was used as a bunker, by Winston Churchill, during World War II

Lesnes Abbey, Bexley

The view across the Courtyard towards the Monk's Garden.

Lesnes Abbey.

In 1178, Richard de Luci founded Lesnes Abbey, probably as penance for his involvement in the death of the Archbishop Thomas Beckett, who had been murdered in Canterbury Cathedral, in 1170.

Richard de Luci was Lord of the Manor of Erith and Chief Justiciar of England, a post he shared with Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester. Upon Robert's death, in 1168, Richard held the post alone until he stepped down in 1178. The Chief Justiciar was second only to the King of England, making it a powerful role.

Lesnes Abbey was dedicated to St Mary and St Thomas, the martyr, and belonged to the order of Augustinian canons whose duty it was to baptise, preach, give penance and bury the dead. Belonging to the Augustinian order the Abbey was never wealthy,  largely due to the expense of repairing and maintaining the adjacent river walls.

The Abbey was an impressive building, with huge columns supporting the high ceilings, while highly decorated tiles covered the floors of some of the rooms. 

Looking east along the Nave.

The most important areas of the Abbey were the church, the buildings around the cloister, the infirmary and the great court. It was in these areas that the monks (canons) lived and worked, looked after the sick, showed hospitality to guests, made contact with the outside world and carried out day-to-day administration of the monastery and its estates. These estates included the marshland that stretched north to the River Thames.

A spring-filled pond, situated close to the Monk's Garden, provided fresh water for the monastery.

Walking with Keilyn: Abbey Wood to Crossness... and beyond

Lesnes Abbey viewpoint.

Saturday December 27, 2025.

Today marked the last walk of 2025, for Keilyn and I.

It began with a taxi to Watford Underground station, where we caught a train to Finchley Road and, from there, a Jubilee line train to Bond Street. A walk through the various passageways brought us to the Eastbound platforms, where we waited three minutes for a train. We had decided that we would catch the first train, regardless of its destination. As it was, an Abbey Wood-bound train was the first to arrive.

A little while later we had reached the terminus and exited the station onto Harrow Manorway. Within minutes we were entering Lesnes Abbey Woods.

A monk.

We followed the path, which brought us to Monks Close which we followed, until we entered the largest part of Abbey Woods. To our right we noticed the carved figure of a monk with his Crosier, atop a tree stump. After taking a few photos we made our way to the 'Chestnuts Kiosk', where hot drinks were purchased, before we set off to explore the grounds.

The monk's garden.

Lesnes Abbey Monk's Garden, was our first exploration, where various plants that aided in 'healing' the sick were planted. At its centre was a seated area, with, as its focal point, a giant Crosier. We continued our exploration of the garden, before following the path towards Lesnes Abbey itself.

Various information boards were dotted around, but none of them explained, or could adequately convey, the sheer size of the ruins. It wasn't until Keilyn and I were among the various broken walls and foundations that we could appreciate its scale, and what it would have looked like when it was built, in 1178.

Lesnes Abbey ruins.

We explored every inch of it. From the West Door to the Infirmary to the Kitchens and everything in between. Keilyn took notes and 'googled' various words, such as 'Slype' or 'Reredorter'.

Once we had explored the ruins, the view of the London skyline from the edge of the woods, the Mulberry tree planted by King James I, and the mosaic, we made our way out of the park via the footbridge over Abbey Road. (Not the Abbey Road made famous by 'The Beatles', which is in St John's Wood).

A pony on Erith Marshes.

This path flowed through green spaces, between some brutalist concrete buildings, and brought us to South Mere Lake. Here the path split, so we chose to go right, which brought us to South Mere Park and Erith Marshes. It was here that we saw some ponies in a field.

Dagenham.

We continued following various pathways, passing the Erith Town Football Club ground and a new nature reserve, which is on the site of the old 'Thamesview Golf Centre', which closed in 2014. Eventually we ended up beside the 'Crossness Pumping Station'. Across the river we could see the 'Dagenham Oil Storage Depot' and the 'Ford Motor Company' Dagenham Plant. 

Oops. We were now further east than we had expected. So, we simply pointed our feet westward and continued walking.

All Hallows by the Tower

All Hallows by the Tower is the oldest church in the City of London.

All Hallows means 'all saints' and the feast was instituted when martyrdoms increased during the persecutions of the late Roman Empire in order to ensure that all martyrs, known and unknown, were properly honoured. All Saints Day has been celebrated on November 1st since the 8th century.

1st-5th century: The Romans

In the crypt museum, still in its original place and at the ground level of Roman times, is a section of tessellated floor from a 2nd century dwelling. There are also other artefacts from the Roman occupation of this site. 

5th-11th century: The Saxons

In 675 AD Erkenwald was made Bishop of London and founded, on this site, a chapel of Barking Abbey, where his sister, Ethelberga, served as Abbess. Whilst the first church was made of wood, the undercroft and the great Saxon arch probably date from the 8th century and are part of the first stone church on this site. The Saxon arch is believed to be the oldest Saxon arch within the City of London.

11th-15th century: Medieval Times

All Hallows passed between various ownership from the turn of the first millennium to the 16th century. In 1539 it was exchanged to the patronage of the Archbishop of Canterbury, where it remains to this day.

12th-14th century: The Order of the Knights Templar

In 1119 the Order of the Knights Templar was founded. They would go on to become wealthy and influential throughout Europe, which brought them into conflict with the Catholic church. In 1307, Pope Clement instructed all Christian monarchs to arrest Templar Knights and seize their assets. King Edward II, who was unenthusiastic about this, was compelled to receive Inquisition Judges and, in 1311, trials were held at All Hallows.

The altar, in the Undercroft Chapel, is made of stones from Richard I's Castle Atlit, in Palestine.

'Exquisite Pain' by Damien Hirst

'Exquisite Pain'.

"I like the confusion you get between science and religion...

that's where belief lies and art as well."

- Damien Hirst

Inside the Priory Church of St Bartholomew-the-Great, in the south transept, you will find an anatomically correct statue of St Bartholomew. The statue has his skin draped over his right arm, with his right hand holding a scalpel. His left hand holds a pair of scissors.

It is a striking piece, eerily gleaming against the darkness of the interior of the church, which, when first seen, is very unsettling. However, the more I studied it the more captivated I became.