If there’s one thing that Frances Bourgeois has taught us, it’s that loving trains is cool. And for transport-fanatics, the capital city is a pretty exciting place to be, right? We’ve got old trains, new trains, speedy trains, steam trains, and – of course – underground trains. Someone who’s been particularly inspired by Bourgeois is Tom Rees (AKA @vaguely.mundane). The 29-year old north Londoner recently spent 18 months visiting every single one of the 272 Tube stations on London’s transport network, and reviewing each of them on his social media platforms.
Spanning the length and breadth of the capital (and beyond), the London Underground stretches across more than 400km via 11 different lines. Taking on London’s labyrinth of Tube stations is no mean feat. But I suppose the venture is comparable to my commitment to trying every single M&S canned cocktail – it’s a huge endeavor to undertake, but someone’s got to do it, you know?
Credit: @vaguely.mundane via Instagram
Tom had always been fairly fascinated by how the Tube enabled people to ‘zip around the city’, but when he moved to Islington from Shropshire in 2017, his interest accelerated. He starting filming his Tube station excursions in 2019, but was inspired to start posting the footage on social media in 2023, when he spotted a a rather sizeable Tube-shaped gap in the market.
He posted his first review (of Wembley Park) on April 3, 2023, and then went on to visit every single Tube station, spending around 20 minutes at each of them, and then ranking them using a tier system. His final review was of Bank station (hopefully he managed to find his way out afterwards), which he posted in September 2024.
Tom’s favourite Tube stations
The tier system ranks stations from best to worst (A being the best and E being the worst). The Tube stations that have received some of the most glowing feedback from Tom have included Canary Wharf (because of its ‘sci-fi’ feel and ‘grand millennium architecture’), Uxbridge (because of its stain glass window), and Chesham (which he described as both ‘charming’ and ‘delightful’). He hasn’t settled on one particular favourite, however, as he says that it ‘changes all the time’.
Now that he’s successfully visited every London Underground stationhe’s (quite literally) moving up the world, and is now visiting and reviewing London’s overground stations. And he’s set himself the challenge of discovering somewhere or something exciting nearby each of the city’s many mainline stations.
You can watch Tom’s Tube rankings and his other London transport-related content on his Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube channel.
