A local’s guide to the most beautiful abandoned places in London, from Asylum Chapel in Peckham to Parkland Walk, catacombs, disused Tube stations and more!
Urbex has been a passion of mine ever since I can remember; I guess that being born in Troyes, France, a former textile city filled with disused factories, has helped a lot.
If visiting abandoned places, in London and other cities, is better done in guided tours than solo, due to laws and urbex spots being dangerous, it’s still interesting to know what’s around us.
In London, there are not hundreds of abandoned places – opened to the public or not, but these are the most beautiful you can see from up close, or from a little further.
Abandoned Places in London: 7 Spots Off the Beaten Path
In this guide, I’ll be showing you old railways turned into nature walks, abandoned Tube stations, catacombs, and even former psychiatric facilities left to disrepair.
London never leaves a place abandoned for too long; either they’re turned into secret gardens, like the ruins of St Dunstan in the East, or former churches turn into arts centers and food halls.
Some, like Parkland Walk, are turned into natural reserves you can tread on a bright spring day and others, like the Highgate Cemetery catacombs, lead you on a dive deep into Victorian London.
Ready to discover gorgeous abandoned spots you can see around the city? Let’s get to it!
Abandoned Places in London: Parkland Walk
Located in North London, Parkland Walk takes its roots at Finsbury Park and glides on all the way to Highgate, where you’ll find one of the most beautiful cemeteries in London as well as secret Holly Village.
Parkland Walk is London’s longest abandoned railway line – if you’re looking for pure nature in London, spots to enjoy the spring or autumn, you’d do well to walk this route, reopened in 1984 as a local nature reserve.
If most parts of Parkland Walk simply feel dreamy, like a hidden gem right outside London, others make it feel more like a quite creepy place.
Crumbling platforms, rusted bridges peeking through the vegetation, graffiti-covered ruins, and the Spriggan Sculpture, a mythical creature by artist Marcos Arribas near the old Highgate station, all compete to give the trail a super eerie feel.
Abandoned Places in London: Aldwych Tube Station, Central London
Out of the many disused stations London houses, Aldwych Tube Station off The Strand in Central London is probably the most famous.
Originally called Strand Station, it opened in 1907 as part of a short line from Holborn on the Piccadilly line and closed permanently in 1994, due to declining passenger numbers.
While the public can only see Aldwych Station from the outside, you can still go on heritage tours organized by the London Transport Museum’s Hidden London program, should you want to admire the historic tiled walls, platforms lit by old lamps, and wooden escalators.
The station’s namely one of the spots to have on a movie itinerary of London, since it was used in productions such as V for Vendetta, Sherlock, and 28 Days Later.
Abandoned Places in London: Crystal Palace Subway Station
Located in South East London, the Crystal Palace Subway is another one of the most beautiful abandoned places in London, a Victorian-era subterranean passage built in 1865.
After the Crystal Palace burnt down in 1936, and the railway station closed in 1954, the passage was mostly abandoned, and is the only part that survived when the above station was demolished in 1961.
The place was used as an air-raid shelter during WWII, and parts of it can feel a bit creepy, although the Crystal Palace Subway is, undeniably, one of the most beautiful places of the city.
Its vaulted brickwork, orange and cream colors, its arches and the fact that it’s hidden beneath a road away from the curious eye make it a must-visit when you’re in the Crystal Palace area.
You could start with coffee at nearby Colairo’s for unique doughnuts, or try another coffee shop on Westow Hill, then visit the Crystal Palace Subway and the Crystal Palace Park dinosaurs, especially if you’re with kids.
Then, why not go back to Westow Hill to discover its vintage shops, and enjoy the delicious vibe of an afternoon in a secret village away from Central London?
Abandoned Places in London: Highgate Cemetery Catacombs
In the West Side of Highgate Cemetery, opened 1839, you’ll find some of the most beautiful burial architecture in London – the Terrace Catacombs, the Egyptian Avenue, and the Circle of Lebanon vaults.
Grade II-listed, the catacombs of the West Side include 825 recess-spaces for coffins (called loculi), which used to be part of a high-status Victorian cemetery whose elaborate mausolea and vaults were intended for affluent families.
To access the Highgate Cemetery catacombs, you’ll have to book a guided tour organized by the Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust.
I’d recommend you go early in the morning or near closing time if you want to get a little spooked, and by all means, do take the time to walk around the cemetery to admire the many sculptures and adorned mausolea.
Abandoned Places in London: Cane Hill Hospital
Opened in 1882 in Coulsdon (London Borough of Croydon), Cane Hill Hospital is one of London’s most iconic abandoned sites, once an asylum, then a mental hospital before it finally closed in 2008.
It’s hard to find a more eerie place in the city; at its peak, the hospital housed over 2,000 patients, and over decades, it declined in such a way that the atmosphere feels haunting, filled with abandoned ward rooms, dated objects and empty patient rooms and lockers.
Much of the original hospital complex has been demolished (most of the main buildings, except for some heritage-listed ones like the chapel or the water tower) were removed around 2009 to be redeveloped into homes.
If you’re hunting for urbex places in London, please note that public access is no longer possible in many parts, since it’s under active transformation – but you can still see some surviving historic structures from the outside.
Abandoned Places in London: Millennium Mills, Silvertown
Hidden in West Silvertown, south of the Royal Victoria Dock, Millennium Mills is another beautiful abandoned building, named after the flour brand Millennium Flour.
Built in 1905, Millennium Mills saw Art Deco architecture added in the 1930s, and survived the Silvertown explosion of 1917 and the WWII bombings – but closed in 1981 and fell into disrepair.
The mills have been used for various music videos and movies, such as The Last of England and Paddington 2 – if you’ve been looking for Paddington places in London, that’s one of them.
Since Millennium Mills are undergoing restoration to be turned into homes and workplaces, the public cannot access the place freely, but you can take guided tours around Silvertown to learn about its history and see the abandoned buildings a little bit closer.
Abandoned Places in London: Asylum Chapel, Peckham
Officially known as Caroline Gardens Chapel, Peckham’s Asylum Chapel is a Grade II-listed building – constructed between 1827 and 1833, it was originally part of a sanctuary for elderly retired pub landlords.
The term ‘asylum’ did not describe a psychiatric facility, and if in its early years, the chapel was a strong gathering center for the community, it suffered significant damage during WWII.
The roof was destroyed, as well as the almost entirety of the interior, leaving the carved stone memorials and stained glass windows.
After the war, the chapel closed and only reopened in 2010, when artists Jo Dennis and Dido Hallett bought the building.
Since then, Asylum Chapel has been an arts venue where theater, film shoots, art exhibitions and even weddings regularly take place.
Abandoned Places in London: 7 Spots Off the Beaten Path
There you have them, the most beautiful abandoned places in London, those still filled with the breath of the past.
London’s austere, sober in all the ways that historical sites bring about: inside, you feel in awe, looking only to admire, and understand the layers of the city’s past.
You’ll hopefully have found here a few unusual places and hidden gems you didn’t know about – London is the city where ultra-modern and derelict places converge, and offers complex facets of history.
Should you want to discover other hidden spots in the city, or if you’re a lover of all things past, these are a few guides I’ve written you may love to read: