End of the Line: An exploration out West:

The idea for this post, and title, was inspired by the ‘End of the Line’ video series by transport expert and Youtuber Geoff Marshall. This journey out West sought to discover the local hidden gems of an area not often visited by tourists or Londoners. The concept was simple: choose a station at the end of a London tube line and then work back inwards, visiting each station and its surroundings as we go. Potential starting points included the far flung corners of the tube map such as Amersham or Epping, but the chosen location was the suburban hub of Ealing Broadway. As the terminating station for western branches of the District and Central line, this station was perfect to travel back into Central London on the District line. For more in depth information on some of the transport related content, definitely check out Jago Hazzard’s Youtube channel.

Swallowed up towns: Ealing Broadway, Ealing Common and Acton Town

This journey started out in the London Borough of Ealing in the newly refurbished Ealing Broadway station. Originally a parish in Middlesex before the expansion of London arrived, Ealing was a mere leafy, rural village. Over time this village grew into a town before being engulfed by the sprawl of London – eventually ending up the bustling suburb it is today. Though, it may be unfair to Ealing and Acton to denote them as suburbs as both felt like extremely self-sufficient and independent hubs of activity. While intrinsically connected to London (the visuals of the tube, buses and signage exemplify this), each area feels its own.

Coming out of the station one of the first things you can see is the old Ealing Broadway station to the right of the current building. The stone façade of the 1910 District Railway building still displays the station name and juxtaposes the very contemporary 2021 unit. A short walk from the station past the Ealing Broadway shopping centre takes you to Walpole Park. Dubbed the ‘Queen of the Suburbs’ in the early 20th century, Ealing still boasts tree lined streets and open parks. On the border of Walpole park and designed by John Soane, is the wonderful Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery – now used as a contemporary exhibition space. Continuing past the Manor are the famous Ealing Studios which are the oldest continuously used working film studio facilities in the world. Recent productions at the studios include Downton Abbey, Shaun of the Dead and The Imitation Game.

As the terminating station of this journey, Ealing Broadway has some fascinating spaces and designs. On the platforms are these old roundels (possibly dating to the early 1910s) that look fantastic whilst at the physical end of the line is a fun path that goes behind the tracks to provide a quite unique view of the station.

1. Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery 2. Walpole Park 3. Ealing Studios 4. Old roundels 5. View down the track

Following on from Ealing Broadway on the District line is Ealing Common. The station is much quieter than our first stop and is somewhat less grand. Some old platform boards are a nice find, as is the glass tiled roundel in the reception hall. On this particular weekday, Ealing Common itself was quiet with only a few dog walkers populating the space. As such it felt a nice space for the summer but potentially more a space you pass through rather than a destination. Back on the District line, our third stop was Acton Town. Much like Ealing, Acton suffered a similar fate at the hands of urban expansion. A summer destination known for the cleanliness of the open air, Acton attracted many visitors from London in the 17^th and 18th centuries. Inevitably, come the 19^th century and the powerful momentum of the industrial revolution, Acton became absorbed by the grasp of London. The High Street and urban centre of the area has the feel of a provincial town it is easy to forget you’re in London.

The station itself was known as Mill Hill Park before being renamed Acton Town in 1910 and has seen a significant number of operator and route changes in its time. One discontinued service in particular was the very short shuttle journey from Acton Town to South Acton where its quick journey times led to its affectionate name as ‘the tea run’. The old platform for this service can still be seen in the current station, as well as part of an old bridge up by Bollo Lane. Perhaps the biggest hidden surprise at Acton Town is the huge London Transport Museum Depot that is nestled into the suburbs out here in West London. Any stock not on display at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden is housed here and on certain dates throughout the year it is open to the public.

1. Old platform boards at Ealing Common 2. Disused platform at Acton Town for the shuttle up to South Acton 3. London Transport Museum Depot

Following the High Road: Chiswick Park, Turnham Green, Stamford Brook and Ravenscourt Park

Leaving Acton Town, we made our way south to Chiswick Park, the fourth station on the list. The next set of stations follow a largely linear route, mirroring the Chiswick High Road and King Street all the way into Hammersmith. Until the construction of the A4 in the 1950s, the Chiswick High Road was the primary route out West from areas like Hammersmith and Kensington. Once a Roman road, the route is now a busy shopping road with lots of independent and chain units.

Like many stations on the District and Piccadilly lines, Chiswick Park was designed by architect Charles Holden. Known for his modern and geometric approach, Holden has undoubtedly had a big impact on the network. A large, open reception hall is filled with old, vintage signage and tiling that seems to be commonplace along this stretch of the Underground. From the outside, the station has a rotunda energy about it with a strange brick chimney protruding out from it. Influenced by European metro station designs, Chiswick Park has a unique charm about it.

Perhaps the most surprising find of this journey is located off the main road out the station on a residential street named Fairlawn Grove. Amongst the nicely sized period houses on the street is a stunning pop in colour in the form of ‘Mosaic House’. The residence and long term project of Carrie Reichardt, Mosaic House is a spectacular exhibition of thousands of mosaic tiles that all come together to create some fairly quirky designs. Featuring on both the front and back of the house, it is well worth a visit purely for how delightfully random it is.

Continuing from Chiswick Park is the chic neighbourhood of Turnham Green. At this point, we are firmly on the fringes of inner city life where the area feels too built up to be a suburb yet isn’t quite the chaotic urban hubs of a city centre. Walking along the Chiswick High Road past the listed Christ Church on Turnham Green there are numerous independent shops including a lovely book shop called Bookcase. Here you’ll find a superb collection of books as well as vinyl records downstairs and when we visited you could even go on a blind date with a book!

The short tube journey from Turnham Green to Stamford Brook brings us to a mostly residential area of West London. Excluding a funky fruit filled old car there isn’t much going on around the very peaceful set of streets between Stamford Brook and the Thames. The station itself, while quiet and small, has some interesting history to it. The name Stamford Brook comes from the Thames tributary that flowed through the area, but much like many of London’s waterways this is now via underground tunnels. In the 1960s with passenger numbers on the network rising, manually manned ticket barriers were becoming outdated and it was here at Stamford Brook where the modernisation begun. In 1964, an automatic ticket barrier (an original predecessor to the ones seen across the country today) was installed and following its trialled success, the experiment was rolled out to nearby stations on the line.

The final stop on the High Road section of this journey is Ravenscourt Park. Upon leaving the station, we discovered the station hall speakers were playing some very peaceful classical music – perhaps as a way of calming the commute? Right by the station is the beautiful Ravenscourt Park which on the day of our visit was filled with families playing out in the August sun. The park has an expansive open green field as well as plenty of sports facilities, but tucked away on the side is a well kept walled garden. Open to the community for the public to come help with the gardening on certain dates, this little oasis in the heart of West London is a great place to sit and listen to the sounds of nature and people enjoying the park. Back at the station before departing for Hammersmith, we couldn’t help but notice these bizarre waiting room pods. Looking like they were extracted from the set of Blade Runner or Doctor Who, these pods are a cool (but slightly run down) place to wait for your train.

1. Fruit filled car by Stamford Brook 2. Futuristic waiting room pods at Ravenscourt Park Station 3. Ravenscourt Park Walled Garden

Gateway to the Centre: Hammersmith, Barons Court and West Kensington

One of the last neighbourhoods of West London before reaching the central region of the Capital, Hammersmith is a vibrant mix of attractions and communities. The station setup at Hammersmith is something that has had a lot of iterations over the years as rival train companies competed with each other. Now a unified entity under the management of Transport for London, the tube used to be a mess of private companies all with their own agendas. Hammersmith is a modern day example of such competition with its two separate stations. The modern day Piccadilly and District lines run through one station while the other houses the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines. The original competing companies were the District railway and the Metropolitan railway who built separate stations 60m apart for their respective lines. To make matters more complicated, between 1874 and 1916 there were three separate stations as the London and Southwest Railway had a station named Hammersmith Grove Road (closed in 1916). Arriving in Hammersmith via the District line, the station exit brings you out into the Broadway shopping centre and while this deprives the station of any architectural beauty there are remains of the original signage alongside a mosaic of Hammersmith Bridge. Outside of the station is an extremely busy gyratory and the iconic Hammersmith Apollo theatre.

Heading back onto the tube, the next stop is Barons Court. While Hammersmith’s modern iterations lack architectural style, Barons Court displays it in abundance. The beautiful original wooden benches bring a sense of nostalgia to the station while the exterior is a lovely Art Nouveau design. When outside of the stations, this section runs the risk of becoming repetitive with the urban landscape following a similar pattern of metropolitan streets with a mix of chic cafes and shops alongside affluent terraced housing. But there is a standout feature to Barons Court which can be seen by following Palliser Road south out of the station. At the end of road you can get a good look into the Queens Tennis Club – it is probably best to steer clear in June when the famous tournament takes place here.

1. Original benches at Barons Court 2. Barons Court Art Nouveau design 3. Queens Tennis Club

Down the road from Barons Court is the final stop on this journey: West Kensington. A very small and minor station, only the District line stops here as the Piccadilly diverts underground briefly to bypass this station. The station (and wider area) was renamed in the 1870s from North End Fulham in a bid to make the area seem more desirable as the station is actually located in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham rather than in Kensington and Chelsea. Looking back to the start of the journey, the built environment feels much more urban compared to the leafy aura of Ealing. The atmospheres have slowly changed over time and represent the different functions and aims of each area in their history.

It was fascinating to hop on and off the tube visiting these neighbourhoods and tucked away surprises out in West London. So many of the stations themselves had cool designs and features it shows just how much people miss when commuting or in a rush. So next time you’re planning something to do in London think outside the box of Central London. Using the tube lines as linear routes to plan around, go explore the far corners and edges of London. You never know what you might discover! For more in depth coverage of the tube history as well as always interesting ideas for how to discover more of London make sure to visit Geoff Marshall and Jago Hazzard’s Youtube channels.

All the roundels for each station visited on the journey