Some Tube stations are just straightforward: platform, ticket hall, train. Others? They come with owls, secret doors, or architecture that feels like something out of a spy novel. Here’s a look at some of the more peculiar and unusual features dotted across the network.

Pigeons, Owl Deterrents and Bird Control:

• At Upminster station, there’s a fake plastic owl perched on a ledge to scare away pigeons.
• Wembley Park also uses a similar owl deterrent.
• On the Piccadilly line and District line you can watch Pigeons commute on the trains between Barons Court and Acton Town.

Secret Passages & Hidden Doors:

• Westminster Station hides a revolving door at Exit 3 that leads straight to Portcullis House, which has a tunnel into the Houses of Parliament.
• At Highgate, if you ride the exit-only escalator to the top, there’s a window that looks across to abandoned platforms from a never-built exchange that would have linked to Finsbury Park.

Strange and Forgotten Station Names:

• Highgate: Its platform is longer than the train, so there’s a notably large gap at one end.
• Warwick Avenue: Has no surface building; instead, a traffic island with a ventilation shaft and an old cabman’s hut sits above.
• Willesden Green: Used to serve the Metropolitan Line, but not anymore. The platform still exists and is occasionally used by Metropolitan trains when there’s maintenance on other lines.

Architectural Quirks:

• Some station names and platform layout changes show how plans evolved: Warren Street (Located at the junction of Tottenham Court Road and Euston Road) originally was originally called Euston Road when it opened in 1907, and the old tiling on the Northern Line platform still reflects that name.
• On Holborn Station, parts of the old Aldwych branch survive. One of the former bay platforms is now used to test signage, advertising and for film shoots; other parts are abandoned storerooms.

Hidden Design Features:

• Gants Hill Station is architecturally significant: designed by Charles Holden with inspiration from the Moscow Metro, it has a barrel-vaulted concourse and no surface building, it’s entirely subterranean.
• Inside Gants Hill, you’ll find miniature Tube roundels embedded in the tiling, as well as distinctive station clocks.

The London Underground is a labyrinth not only of tracks but of quirks. Whether it’s fake owls to keep pigeons away, hidden tunnel connections, or architectural nods to Moscow, these oddities remind us that the Tube is more than a transport network, it’s a living, breathing piece of London’s personality.