Tourist is baffled by bizarre images spotted in London Tube stations

A tourist visiting London was left baffled over a strange symbol seen at an underground Tube station.

The curious visitor snapped a photo of a circular, black-and-white maze-like image on the wall at Piccadilly Circus station, and asked the Internet to explain what it meant. 

In response, several people agreed they’d seen similar images during their own commutes – with some suggesting they were meaningless while others guessed they were maps of the station’s passageways.

However, it was quickly revealed that the mazes were part of an art installation from 2013 to commemorate the London Underground’s 150th anniversary.

Posting to Reddit, the tourist asked the meaning behind one of the artworks featured at 270 stations across the capital. 

‘What is this?’ they simply asked, further explaining that they initially dismissed the artworks as advertisements. 

‘Then I noticed similar ones and started examining them out of aesthetic curiosity. That’s when I realised they were part of a series,’ they said. 

‘But the seemingly random red cross at the bottom threw me off: if it’s a puzzle, it feels too simple for the effort and resources it must have taken to install; if it’s art, then what’s the message?’

‘It’s a QR code from 1896,’ one user joked, and another wrote: ‘Pretty sure it is London Bank underground station map’. ‘Doesn’t look like anything to me,’ a third added.

‘A sign to advise not standing at the exit when you are leaving the station,’ someone guessed. ‘It’s the fire escape route,’ one user speculated. 

Others cleared up the confusion and revealed that the images were part of a series of artworks called Labyrinth. 

Designed by British artist Mark Wallinger, the works were created to commemorate 150 years of the London Underground in 2013 and have remained a permanent feature of stations since then. 

Individual plaques were erected in 270 underground stations, one for each station of the world-famous transport network at the time of installation.   

Ten years later, to mark the Underground’s 160th anniversary, two more labyrinths were added in Battersea Power and Nine Elms stations, which had opened in 2021.  

Each of the images follow the same pattern but have a slightly different geometric design and are placed in areas accessible to the public, like ticket halls, corridors and platforms.

They are typically a maze of pathways, which can be traced with a finger, leading from a circle in the middle to a red cross on the outer edge. 

Each 60x60cm plaque is numbered in the order each station was visited during the Gusiness World Record Tube Challenge.

The challenge has been attempted numerous times since 1960 and sees participants try to ride the length of every Tube line, passing every station, in the quickest amount of time. 

It comes after a Tube driver shared what it’s really like to work on the London Underground.

Sarah Russell, 33, took to TikTok to share a day in the life working on the Bakerloo line – with Londoners hooked by her ‘fascinating’ insights.

The train driver explained that she has been doing the job for nearly eight years and ‘absolutely loves it’.

Sarah says she prefers to work the late shift, which begins at 4.30pm and sees her drop off her final train at 1am.

Posting on TikTok under the username @tubedriversarah, she shared some surprising insights – including how many journeys she actually completes per shift to what drivers do if they need the toilet mid-journey.

Sarah explained that unlike office workers who can pop to the loo at their own discretion, drivers aren’t allowed to stop unless in the case of an emergency – and must wait to relieve themselves. 

‘Hi, my name’s Sarah and I’ve been Tube driver on the Bakerloo line for nearly eight years and I absolutely love it,’ she said at the start of her video. 

Sharing a glimpse into what the working day is like, Sarah revealed how she spends the day driving for the Bakerloo line, which is entirely driver-operated, while others are partially automated.

While it may be a job many take for granted, Sarah explained that it is ‘quite hard’ to get into and requires a foot in the door with TfL and a clean bill of health.

Good concentration is also key, alongside an ability to keep calm in tricky situations. ‘The minute the job goes up the wall, for example you get a defective train or other problems its very stressful,’ she said.

And operating the tubes is no easy feat, as Sarah insisted that driving is a skill which must honed to manage ‘the gradient, different weather types’ as well as knowing ‘your route knowledge well’.