Discover London's secret underground tunnels, seen only in films

Travellers on the London Underground will (or should) know the golden rule: always stand on the right when going up or down the station escalators so those in a rush can hurry past you. It feels strange therefore to be ambling carefreely down the middle of the escalators at Charing Cross, one of the city's busiest transport hubs. It's eerily quiet and to make things even weirder, the escalators aren't moving.

"We could turn them on for you," says our guide, Emily. "That's if you have a Hollywood budget."

Emily works for the London Transport Museum, whose "Hidden London" tours delve into tucked-away subterranean spaces that are usually out of bounds to the public. This afternoon we're exploring a secluded pocket of Charing Cross that has been stuck in something of a timewarp for the best part of 25 years and become a favourite with TV and movie makers.

Pacing along silent corridors and onto disused Jubilee Line platforms, past walls adorned with bygone green tiles, posters and signs, we're retracing the footsteps of characters such as Jason Bourne (Matt Damon), Killing Eve's Villanelle (Jodie Comer), the spies of Spooks and, naturally, James Bond. "Skyfall was the biggest production we've had," says Emily's colleague, Tommy. "They were here for five months. There were 450 cast, crew, extras. They ended up using about 10 minutes of footage in the film."

We pause by a screen to watch a montage of clips. One shows Daniel Craig, as 007, chasing Javier Bardem's Skyfall villain, Raoul Silva. At one point, Craig slides down past the (moving) escalators. Emily says film crews often make tweaks to the decor here, adding faux adverts or replacing signs so this can masquerade as another station or network (in the Marvel flick Morbius, it transformed into the New York subway).

We venture further, walking through a musty tunnel that winds deep beneath Trafalgar Square. Cluttered with nuts, bolts, pillars and railings, it had been hand-dug through the London clay to enable engineers to expand Charing Cross station and bring the Jubilee Line here in the late 1970s.

This was the original southern terminus of that line, which takes its name and colour code from Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee. In 1999, an extension to Stratford in east London led to a significant rerouting, meaning Jubilee Line trains no longer stopped at Charing Cross.

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However, Bakerloo and Northern line tube services still do and after shuffling along a breezy ventilation shaft, we peek down to glimpse trains thundering in, those iconic "Mind the Gap" slogans visible on the platform edge.

What: Charing Cross - Access All Areas tour

How much: £45 ($85) or £42 for concessions, with children under 14 not permitted. ltmuseum.co.uk

Explore more: visitbritain.com

Pictures: Steve McKenna; MGM