Exploring Lower Robert Street: London's Creepiest Road?

The creepiest road in London, has to be Swains Lane, which runs between the two Highgate cemeteries. Ignoring all the 1970's furore over the old cemetery, the whole atmosphere of this road feels wrong. It feels grimmer at the top end, though. I've walked down it a couple of times, both times in broad daylight, and didn't much care for either. Leaving it behind instantly made one feel better, as if a weight had been lifted from the shoulders. Very odd, but definitely real. Also, Highgate High Level station, which is long disused, and sits directly above Highgate tube station, in a rather dank cutting, is one of the very creepiest places I've ever been. A horrid feeling of loneliness, and of a kind of timeless watching makes it flesh-crawlingly creepy.

I was a motorcycle courier from 1991 to 2009 and was well acquainted with this short cut, but had forgotten the name. Was describing this tunnel to a friend the other day, and 'the algorithm' pops up this video. Scary how efficient your microphone spies on your devices are...

Love the Thames Television intro tune. I was expecting World at War or The Benny Hill Show 🤣

I worked for 26 years in Robert Street for an organisation that occupied numbers 2 and 3 (where 'Peter Pan' author J.M. Barrie once lived). My main job there was managing the fulfillment of publications orders and the vaults in Lower Robert Street were my stockrooms. The organisation moved out in 2014 and I understand it's apartments now. I've got dozens of photos inside those vaults somewhere...

In my days of working in London, the late 60's/early 70's I used this as a shortcut from the Embankment to the Strand very often. Swinging a Rolls Royce through there was not easy the first few times but when used to it, it was great and cut off a lot of congestion and delay when going from the City to Mayfair. The first time I did it when my boss was in the car he nearly had a heart attack. 😂

Me and friend drove down this tunnel the other week. He called it the street with no name. We are always out at night looking for the old parts of London. Has eerier feel at night. Great video.

Gosh, how beautiful the architecture used to be. I didn't realise that the Thames was so much wider than it is now.

I worked in 80 Strand for years and thought both of these were private entrances to garages, didn't realise the 2 "tunnels" were actually the same public street

London has such a vast history that definitely you will not only find creepy places but also experience paranormal encounters. I have been living in London since 2008 and I had about 3 encounters. The last one was in St James’ Park area 2 years ago. A person size black smoke came towards me in Buckingham Gate Street. It was going towards The Buckingham Palace. It crossed the street and passed right next to me just like a person walking. This was at around midnight when I was going back home. I used to live in Petty France at that time and in my building (Vandon Court) there was also a story of a militar that would appear in one of the flats. Also, on top of my floor we would hear noises all night and nobody was living there. Really, really strange.

So glad you covered this Rob, I love driving through the Bat Cave and delighted that it's once again open. I'm sure you know but a nice fact I share with passengers re: how wide the Thames once was. Strand is the German word for beach, as of course it once beached the River Thames.

Pukka video! I love "gritty", hidden, often overlooked places like this. Please make more videos about London's subterranean, hidden and haunted places, obscure local legends, eccentrics, quirks and oddities, and tragic true stories, as well as any interesting roads, features, buildings, alleyways, courtyards, waterways, green spaces, abandoned and disused sites.

Loved going through the bat cave when I had passengers in back of the cab, got some funny looks when going in, punters love it though. I heard it’s back open not checked myself yet though.

Iv gone down this road in both directions and never come face to face with another vehicle. It was a great little cut through…….. until they closed it. This is a part of london I know very well but have learned so much more today. Thank you 🙏🏻

Went through it years ago in a black cab, never knew it existed before that - I thought we’d sneaked through someone’s loading bay! Dodged traffic hold-ups, saved time and money but that’s the genius of the Knowledge.

I find the pedestrian underpasses under Elephant & Castle roundbout creepy. Once you get down there it feels a bit like a maze. It's easy to take a wrong turn and you often encounter people unexpectedly as you round a corner. Usually they are homeless or busking, but you feel it would also be a good place for muggers after dark. It feels a bit creepy in the daytime and I would not want to go down after dark. Another road that creeps me out is the road to the sorting office near Tufnell Park. It's a long road for a pedestrian with a fence and railway line on one side and not many dwellings on the other side. You hardly see anyone walking on that road but it would not be easy to get away from someone with ill intentions. Perhaps this is just a woman's perspective and it would not bother guys.

i was a central london based motorcycle courier for 10 long years... and i can honestly say ive NEVER been down this little rd.. .. .. .. loads of these quirky places all over central london

Swain's Lane in Highgate is probably creepier. It runs through the cemetary. I used to walk/cycle up that road on saturday nights in the early 2000s, it always felt really creepy and I found out about a year ago that there was a whole saga in the 70s about a vampire or some sort of ghost terrorizing people there. It's also probably the steepest road I've been on, that in itself made it feel quite unusual

Lovely Intro - either Thames TV or LWT, can't remember which. I once lived in Colliers Wood and I walked to the station at Haydon's Road every morning to work. On the way was a disused Victorian Waterworks, which was a true wonderland of decrepit brickwork, cracked paving and self-seeded buddleia, sycamores, birches, ivy and other creepers. The early morning fog swirled around the broken walls under a grey sky - I was in my own Harry Potter movie.

An interesting story - enhanced by that flickering light tube and the wind blown litter, which add immensely to the 'atmosphere'. I used to wonder where the 'Adelphi' theatre got its name from. Birmingham used to have a number of underpasses like these both in the city centre and elsewhere but most have been taken out now, for precisely the reasons that you mention here.

Thank you for showing something we would never have known. I live North of Manchester Liverpool way, so would never see it my son lives outside London. But illness stops me going to visit at the moment. Thanks again. 👍👍🥂