London City Guide

Blackfriars ⇄ South Kensington Station | Tube Journey, Train Times & Fares

The journey from Blackfriars to South Kensington is in fare zone 1 and it’s a direct train on the Circle tube line

  1. From Blackfriars take the Circle Line
  2. Leave the train at South Kensington

Number of tube stops: 7 · Journey time: Approx 13 mins

Stations on the route: Blackfriars ➜ Temple ➜ Embankment ➜ Westminster ➜ St. James’s Park ➜ Victoria ➜ Sloane Square ➜ South Kensington

London Underground tube delays

Strikes and station closures

First and last train times on the Circle line

Tube times for the Circle line

Alternative routes include Blackfriars to Gloucester Road, Blackfriars to Knightsbridge and Blackfriars to Sloane Square

Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms

Blackfriars tube station is wheelchair accessible, and has step-free access from the street to the train

South Kensington station is not wheelchair accessible

Blackfriars station entrance – There’s a lift between the entrance and the platforms. If you want to avoid the lift then you can use three flights of stairs from the Victoria Embankment entrance to the booking hall (17 steps down +3 steps down +6 steps up), or three flights from the New Bridge Street entrance (18 steps down +6 steps down +6 steps up), or two flights from the Riverside Walk entrance (18 steps up +6 steps up), or two flights from the Blackfriars Bridge entrance (2x10 steps down from the eastside, or 21 steps down +6 steps up from the westside), or one flight from the Queen Victoria Street entrance (16 steps down). After that there’s another two flights of stairs down to the platforms (10 steps down +16 steps down to the eastbound platform, or 17 steps down +9 steps down to the westbound platform)

South Kensington station exit – You must use two flights of stairs down from the Circle/​District line platforms to the booking hall (12 steps up +13 steps up), or use two escalators plus one flight of stairs from the Piccadilly line platforms (17 steps down to the eastbound, or 20 steps up to the westbound platform). After that you must use another two flights of stairs to the Pelham Street/​Thurloe Street exits (3 steps up +13 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway to the National History Museum exit (8 steps down +16 steps up +15 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway to the Science Museum exit (8 steps down +14 steps up +10 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway to the Ismaili Centre exit (8 steps down +2x14 steps up)

The journey from South Kensington to Blackfriars is in fare zone 1 and it’s a direct train on the Circle tube line

  1. From South Kensington take the Circle Line
  2. Leave the train at Blackfriars

Number of tube stops: 7 · Journey time: Approx 13 mins

Stations on the route: South Kensington ➜ Sloane Square ➜ Victoria ➜ St. James’s Park ➜ Westminster ➜ Embankment ➜ Temple ➜ Blackfriars

London Underground tube delays

Strikes and station closures

First and last train times on the Circle line

Tube times for the Circle line

Alternative routes include South Kensington to Gloucester Road, South Kensington to Knightsbridge and South Kensington to Sloane Square

Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms

South Kensington train station is wheelchair accessible, and has step-free access from the street to the train

Blackfriars station is not wheelchair accessible

South Kensington station entrance – You must use two flights of stairs from the Pelham Street/​Thurloe Street entrances to the booking hall (13 steps down +3 steps down), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway from the National History Museum entrance (15 steps down +16 steps down +8 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway from the Science Museum entrance (10 steps down +14 steps down +8 steps up), or use three flights plus walk through a long subway from the Ismaili Centre entrance (2x14 steps down +8 steps up). After that you must use another two flights of stairs down to the Circle/​District line platforms (13 steps down +12 steps down), or use two escalators plus one flight of stairs to the Piccadilly line platforms (17 steps up to the eastbound, or 20 steps down to the westbound platform)

Blackfriars station exit – There’s a lift between the platforms and the exit. If you want to avoid the lift then you can use two flights of stairs from the platforms to the booking hall (16 steps up +10 steps up from the eastbound platform, or 9 steps up +17 steps up from the westbound platform). After that there’s another three flights of stairs to the Victoria Embankment exit (6 steps up +3 steps down +17 steps down), or three flights to the New Bridge Street exit (6 steps up +6 steps down +18 steps down), or two flights to the Riverside Walk exit (6 steps down +18 steps down), or two flights to the Blackfriars Bridge exit (2x10 steps up to the eastside, or 6 steps up +21 steps down to the westside), or one flight to the Queen Victoria Street exit (16 steps up)

Tube fare between Blackfriars and South Kensington

This tube journey is in Oyster zone 1. The cheapest fare is £2.70 off-peak (£2.80 peak) when you pay by Oyster or contactless. There’s no return fare, you just pay the same as two single tickets

Cost of tube fare from Blackfriars ⇄ South Kensington Station | Tube Journey, Train Times & Fares
Fare zone Cash Oyster & Contactless cards
Single fare Single fare Daily cap
Peak Off-peak Peak Off-peak
Zone 1 fare £6.70 £2.80 £2.70 £8.50 £8.50
Travelcard prices from Blackfriars ⇄ South Kensington Station | Tube Journey, Train Times & Fares
Fare Zone Travelcards (Train, Bus & Tram)
One day travel­card Week travel­card Month travel­card
Anytime Off-peak
Zone 1-2 travelcard n/a n/a £42.70 £164
Zone 1-4 travelcard £15.90 n/a £61.40 £235.80
Zone 1-6 travelcard £22.60 £15.90 £78 £299
Zone 1-9 travelcard £28.50 £17 £111.30 £427.40
See our complete list of London Underground prices, Pensioner prices, Children’s prices, Oyster card prices, Contactless card prices and Travelcard prices
Note: Tube journey prices are correct as of

Peak and off-peak journey times

For Oyster and contactless off-peak is outside the hours of 6.30 AM-9.30 AM and 4 PM-7 PM (Mon-Fri). For travelcards it’s any time after 9.30 AM (Mon-Fri). Weekends are always classed as off-peak. Note: Between the 8th March and 31st May 2024 TFL are running a trial called ‘Off-Peak Friday Fares’, where Fridays will be classed as off-peak all day.

The fare is based on what time your journey begins. It doesn’t matter what time your journey ends.

Other ways to make this journey

Travel on foot – The distance between South Kensington and Blackfriars is about 3⅓ miles, which would take you about 63-70 minutes on foot

Travel by bus – Single fare: £1.75 (you may need more than one bus); Daily cap: £5.25; Weekly cap: £24.70; 1-day travelcard: £6; Weekly travelcard: £24.70 – Adult bus prices 2024 · Pensioner bus prices 2024 · Children’s bus prices 2024

Travel by taxi – Riding a taxi 3⅓ miles between South Kensington train station and Blackfriars station will cost between £18 and £31 and take 14-28 mins

Travel by carCar parks near Blackfriars station and South Kensington