The journey from Old Street to South Kensington is in fare zone 1 and you’ll have to use the Northern and Piccadilly tube lines, changing trains at King’s Cross St. Pancras
- From Old Street take the Northern Line
- Change at King’s Cross St. Pancras to the Piccadilly Line
- Leave the train at South Kensington
Number of tube stops: 11 · Journey time: Approx 32 mins
Stations on the route: Old Street ➜ Angel ➜ King’s Cross St. Pancras [change train] King’s Cross St. Pancras ➜ Russell Square ➜ Holborn ➜ Covent Garden ➜ Leicester Square ➜ Piccadilly Circus ➜ Green Park ➜ Hyde Park Corner ➜ Knightsbridge ➜ South Kensington
London Underground tube delays
Strikes and closures on the Northern and Piccadilly
First and last train times on the Northern line
Tube times for the Northern line
Alternative routes include Old Street to Gloucester Road, Old Street to Knightsbridge and Old Street to Sloane Square
Stairs, lifts and escalators to the station platforms
Old Street tube station is not wheelchair accessible
South Kensington station is not wheelchair accessible
Old Street station entrance – You must use one flight of stairs between Old Street’s northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest entrances and the booking hall (8 steps down), or two flights of stairs from the City Road entrances (2x11 steps from the southwest entrance, or 2x12 steps from the northwest, northeast and southeast entrances). After that you must an escalator (or seven flights of 9, 10, 6x15 steps down) plus another four flights of stairs (16 steps down +15 steps down +18 steps down +17 steps down)
Changing tube line at King’s Cross St. Pancras – There’s a lift when changing between the platforms
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 Old Street is in fare zone 1 and you’ll have to use the Piccadilly and Northern tube lines, changing trains at King’s Cross St. Pancras
- From South Kensington take the Piccadilly Line
- Change at King’s Cross St. Pancras to the Northern Line
- Leave the train at Old Street
Number of tube stops: 11 · Journey time: Approx 30 mins
Stations on the route: South Kensington ➜ Knightsbridge ➜ Hyde Park Corner ➜ Green Park ➜ Piccadilly Circus ➜ Leicester Square ➜ Covent Garden ➜ Holborn ➜ Russell Square ➜ King’s Cross St. Pancras [change train] King’s Cross St. Pancras ➜ Angel ➜ Old Street
London Underground tube delays
Strikes and closures on the Piccadilly and Northern
First and last train times on the Piccadilly line
Tube times for the Piccadilly 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 station is not wheelchair accessible
Old Street 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)
Changing tube line at King’s Cross St. Pancras – There’s a lift when changing between the platforms
Old Street station exit – You must an escalator (or seven flights of 6x15, 10, 9 steps) plus four flights of stairs from the platforms to the booking hall (17 steps up +18 steps up +15 steps up +16 steps up). After that you must use another flight of stairs to Old Street’s northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest exits (8 steps up), or two flights of stairs to the City Road exits (2x11 steps to the southwest exit, or 2x12 steps to the northwest, northeast and southeast exits)
Tube fare between Old Street 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
| 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 |
| 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 – It’s about 4⅓ miles from South Kensington to Old Street which is too far to walk
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 – Taking a 4⅓ mile taxi journey between South Kensington train station and Old Street station will take 18-33 mins and cost between £23 and £35.50
Travel by car – Car parks near Old Street station and South Kensington