From sprawling prehistoric caverns and underground cities to spooky subterranean tunnels and Second World War bunkers, the UK is filled with spectacular sights hidden deep below. Here we explore the country’s most incredible underrated underground attractions that you can visit.
Click through this gallery to discover amazing underground places across the UK...
Tucked away below Liverpool’s lively streets is an incredible network of subterranean tunnels. Created by former tobacco merchant Joseph Williamson in the early 19th century, the exact purpose of the underground labyrinth is unknown, some believing that Williamson wanted simply to provide work for the unemployed. The tunnels are open for tours on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Over 800 red sandstone caves make up this hidden world in Nottingham, which holds the title of the biggest network of underground caves in the UK. Dating back as far as the Dark Ages, the hand-carved caves have been used for everything you could imagine, from housing and bar cellars to dungeons and air-raid shelters. Tickets can be booked through the National Museum of Justice website.
With its mysterious underground waters, shadowy caverns and rare rocks, we can see why these limestone caves in Somerset are linked to a spooky story. Legend has it that a monk tried to exorcise an alleged witch that lived in the caves and she instantly turned to stone, forming a human-shaped rock that continues to baffle visitors today.
Buried deep in the heart of Snowdonia National Park lies a slate mine dating back 160 years. Europe's steepest cable railway takes passengers 500 feet (152m) below the surface into the spectacular man-made caverns of the Llechwedd Deep Mine. On a guided tour, visitors will learn the mine’s history and follow in the footsteps of miners who worked there up to 12 hours a day. At Zip World Llechwedd, you can also play underground golf, ride subterranean ziplines through slate caverns and visit Bounce Below, a giant underground trampoline park.
One of Fife’s most underrated attractions, this concealed Cold War bunker is one of Scotland’s best-kept secrets. The building may look like an average farmhouse but venture 100 feet (30m) below to see the former nuclear bunker reinforced by concrete. Built in 1951, the bunker was used as a command centre during the Cold War and was fully operational until 1993. Visitors can still see the equipment used to intercept Soviet forces, as well as the RAF operations room left behind after the war ended.
The Marble Arch Caves near the Northern Irish village of Florencecourt were discovered by two explorers in 1895 and quickly became a much-loved tourist destination. Named after a nearby natural limestone arch, this impressive cave system was formed over millions of years. A guided cave tour takes visitors through the underground world; highlights include a peaceful cave river, striking rock formations and a sandy cave beach that has never seen sunlight.
Hidden underneath the Forest of Dean is a cluster of craggy caverns and underground passageways known as Clearwell Caves. The caves were used for ochre and iron ore mining for thousands of years until they opened to the public in 1968. With their sweeping chambers, rust-coloured rocks and narrow passageways, the caves are a popular filming location, featured in Doctor Who, Merlin and The Chronicles of Narnia.
Nestled beneath the seaside town of Ramsgate is a sprawling labyrinth of underground tunnels used as a shelter during the Second World War. Constructed in 1863 as a former railway tunnel, the railway was closed in 1926 before it was converted into a public wartime shelter in 1939. Up to 1,200 miles (1,931km) of the tunnel network is open today for guided walking tours which chronicle the history of the hidden town.
Love this? Follow us on Facebook for more travel inspiration
Beneath the limestone cliffs and deep valleys of the Yorkshire Dales lies the longest show cave in Britain. Stretching across over 328 feet (100m), White Scar Cave is best known for its picturesque underground waterfall which was discovered in 1923 by student Christopher Long, and its unusual rock formations, nicknamed 'the carrots' for their shape and colour. Opening times are dependent on weather conditions, so check the website for updates.
In the 19th century, excavators unearthed human remains and prehistoric animal bones from this vast cavern in Devon dating back to the Stone Age. The excavation lasted a staggering 15 years and is the best-known exploration of the site. Today, the caves are recognised as one of Europe’s most important Stone Age sites and can be accessed by guided tour only.
Located at the former Royal Air Force Uxbridge site, the Battle of Britain Bunker was once used by RAF Fighter Command as No.11 Group Operations Room during the Second World War. Hour-long tours take visitors 76 steps below ground to see the original bunker (underscored by an atmospheric soundscape), followed by the Battle of Britain Bunker Air Defence Exhibition nearby.
Deep below the historic spa town of Buxton is a magnificent natural limestone cave that’s over two million years old. Attracting adventurers as early as the 16th century, the cavern found fame after 19th-century writer Charles Cotton listed it as one of his seven ‘Wonders of the Peak’. Its glistening crystal stalactites and formidable caverns are the main highlights.
Set in the coastal limestone cliffs of the Scottish Highlands, Smoo Cave is quite the magnificent sight. Measuring 50 feet (15m) high, the spectacular cave entrance is one of the highest in Britain. Smoo Burn is the cave’s crown jewel, a pretty waterfall that dramatically drops into the water below.
This 19th-century wagonway trails underneath the city of Newcastle towards the River Tyne. Originally built for transporting coal from a colliery to the river during the mid-19th century, the tunnel was later used as a Second World War air-raid shelter. Since 2010, Victoria Tunnel has been open for guided tours that range from 75 minutes to two hours, as well musical performances and poetry readings.
Right off the coast of the Hebridean island of Staffa is an awe-inspiring sea cave known as Fingal’s Cave. Measuring a staggering 227 feet (69m), the colossal cavern is known for its unique hexagonal limestone formations and is one of Scotland’s most amazing natural wonders. The natural acoustics of the cave's bowed roof allow the dramatic crashes of the sea to echo in its chamber.
Discover the ancient myths behind some of the world's most astonishing wild places
Buried roughly 98 feet (30m) below ground on the outskirts of southeast London is a complex maze of man-made tunnels. Carved over hundreds of years, Chislehurst Caves were dug out for their chalk which was used to help make materials like bricks to build the British capital. Since then, the caves have been used for storing weapons during the First World War, for mushroom growing in the 1920s and 1930s, and as a music venue in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
Tucked away below the pretty seaside town of Hastings is a series of mysterious caves. Formed around 14,000 BC, St Clement's Caves have a colourful history, being used as a hospital, an air-raid shelter and even a ballroom in their past life. Today, the caves are home to an exciting pirate-themed experience named Smugglers Adventure, inspired by the real-life tales of piracy along the Sussex coast.
The National Showcaves Centre for Wales can be found hidden below the Brecon Beacons National Park and comprises three caves: Dan-yr-Ogof, Cathedral Cave and the haunting Bone Cave. Venture through narrow passageways and see incredible rock formations dating back millions of years, as well as Bronze Age human skeletons. The incredible River Llynfell zigzags through the caves while 'The Dome of St Paul's' features jaw-dropping 40-foot-high (12m) underground waterfalls.
This mythical cave hidden in the heart of the picturesque village of Knaresborough is regarded as one of England’s oldest attractions. The cave was named after the 15th-century prophetess Mother Shipton (formerly named Ursula Sontheil) who was allegedly born inside. Her premonitions foretold the invention of iron ships, the Great Fire of London in 1666 and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. The site is also home to the nearby Petrifying Well, known for its miraculous healing waters.
Nestled on the fringes of the Black Country town of Dudley is an impressive network of underground canals. Here, boat tours take visitors on a journey through the labyrinthine tunnels and caverns made from 428 million-year-old limestone. Visitors will learn the history of the incredible handmade tunnels that were built during the Industrial Revolution.
Delve beneath the cobbled streets and historic buildings of Edinburgh's Old Town and you’ll find Mary King’s Close, a chilling underground world frozen in time. Buried after the Royal Exchange was built during the 18th century, an eerie maze of alleyways, passages and buildings make up the city’s only preserved 17th-century underground street. Costumed tour guides immerse visitors into the gruesome stories of the residents that once lived there.
Buried beneath Bristol’s Clifton Observatory is one of the city’s most amazing attractions. Down 130 steps within Avon Gorge, Giant’s Cave is known for being the home of Bristol’s famous giants, Goram and Ghyston. The 200-foot-long (61m) tunnel leads to the cave which fans out into a platform overlooking the scenic gorge and Clifton’s famous Suspension Bridge.
Just off the borders of the Peak District National Park is a museum dedicated to Derbyshire’s history of lead mining. The Peak District Mining Museum houses an impressive collection of artefacts recalling the lost lead industry, alongside interactive exhibits and mock mining tunnels to enjoy. Across from the museum, guided tours also venture underground into an authentic 20th-century lead and fluorspar mine, known as Temple Mine.
The origins of London’s underground train system can be found deep beneath the Brunel Museum in Southwark. Inside is the vast chamber where work on the world’s first underwater tunnel began in 1825, and where one of its makers nearly drowned in the process. Created by father-and-son duo Marc and Isambard Brunel, the Thames Tunnel opened in 1843 and quickly became a tourist hotspot. The former shaft entrance provides not only the entry point to the museum today, but a unique space for concerts, weddings and other events.
Buried beneath the streets of Westminster, this clandestine network of meeting rooms and living quarters was set up by the British government during the Second World War. From here, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his war cabinet coordinated Britain’s tactics against the Axis powers, spending whole days and nights down here at the height of the conflict. The rooms have been preserved as they were left in 1945, including a top-secret transatlantic communications space disguised as a public lavatory, where Churchill spoke to the US president.
This 18th-century tangle of tunnels and caverns protrudes deep into the bowels of the Chiltern Hills. Created by Sir Francis Dashwood on his estate at West Wycombe, the hidden labyrinth is thought to have been inspired by his decadent travels around Europe and the Ottoman Empire during his Grand Tour. On returning to England, Dashwood set up the Knights of St Francis of Wycombe, an exclusive group for aristocrats later known as the Hellfire Club. The club purportedly met in these caves, hidden beneath a folly of a Gothic church, where they engaged in illicit activities and artistic debates.
A sprawl of vaulted medieval tunnels snake beneath the cathedral city of Exeter. Built in the 14th century to channel clean spring water into the city centre via lead pipes, it’s now possible to tour this subterranean world and it’s a great rainy-day attraction for all the family. Before entering what are the only tunnels of their kind in Britain, you’ll pass through an interpretation centre that tells you more about Exeter’s heritage.
Concealed amid the Cheshire countryside, this bunker stayed secret for more than five decades. Hack Green was on the frontline of Britain’s defence for almost 60 years, starting its service during the Second World War as a radar station before being briefly abandoned. In 1976 it was bought by the Home Office Emergency Division and converted into a huge, self-sufficient underground complex. Featuring nuclear fallout filter rooms, an emergency water supply and its own power generator, air conditioning and life support system, it was intended to keep 135 civil servants and military personnel safe in the event of a nuclear attack.
Part of London’s Postal Museum, the underground Mail Rail train once ran for 19 hours a day, conveying mountains of letters and parcels across the British capital. In 26 minutes, the former Post Office Railway rattled 6.5 miles (10km) from Paddington to Whitechapel, calling at nine stations and carrying an average of four million letters a day. Today, tourists can ride the small historic train from Tuesday to Sunday, included with your museum admission.
Britain’s only Neolithic flint mine open to modern visitors, Grime’s Graves was the work of our prehistoric ancestors. Located 30 feet (9m) below undulating heathland, the pits now contain exhibitions and digital installations that tell the story of the miners that toiled here 4,500 years ago. Using tools made from deer antlers, the miners painstakingly dug out 430 mine shafts, which lay undiscovered until the late 19th century. A new entrance unveiled in April 2024 takes tourists deep into one of the original pits.
Now check out America's underground attractions you never knew existed