There are approximately 450 escalators scattered across the London Underground’s vast subterranean network.
Some of them are short and sweet, like Stratford station. With a rise of just 4.1 metres, you’re stepping off in seconds.
Others, on the other hand, are much longer.
Russell Square has an impressive vertical rise of 24 metres. If you’re travelling at STET (standard tube escalator time) it should take you just over a minute to reach the top — that’s more than enough time to pay your rent or even a bit of online shopping.
But, there’s only one escalator whose length and height is so overwhelming, it’s been described as the ‘stairway to heaven’.
As it turns out, Angel isn’t just home to the best walk along Regent’s Canal, it’s also the birthplace of the Tube’s longest escalator, boasting an impressive length of 61 metres and a vertical rise of 27 metres.
One of only 14 stations where escalators provide the sole access to the Tube platform, Angel’s escalator is not for the faint-hearted.
It’s one of the busiest stations in London, serving almost 12,000,000 visitors each year.
And every single one must brave the city’s very own Mount Everest.
With 318 steps to climb, could this, in fact, be London’s most intense free StairMaster workout?
As we already know, Londoners have some pretty strong opinions when it comes to public transport.
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For example, ask any commuter who regularly rides the Victoria line for their thoughts on Pimlico. Before you even have a chance to blink, they’ll have likely launched into a full-blown rant about how the stop is totally ‘pointless’ and ‘irrelevant’.
And don’t even get locals started on the Waterloo & City line… or ‘The Drain’ as it’s more affectionately referred to as.
I tried to walk half way up and I nearly died
So, it may come as no surprise that Londoners feel equally passionate about the Angel escalator.
You’ll come across dozens of TikToks about Angel’s ‘never-ending’ and ‘terrifying’ escalator.
Underneath one video, posted just five days ago, @hauntingzombie shared that the one (and only) time he attempted the climb he ‘nearly died’ and had to rest his head on the empty space between the two escalators to catch his breath.
Another Londoner, @dupesxo, recalled once running up an escalator to avoid being late for a university seminar, remarking: ‘I swear my life flashed before my eyes three times’.
The trauma isn’t limited to those who choose to climb to the top.
Several other TikTok users have also complained that the immense escalator often triggers ‘unreal motion sickness’ and ‘vertigo’.
@rosekinza shares: ‘I went on this once and my fear of heights made me so dizzy and my legs so wobbly!’
One user, @ahmad, describes an even more unsettling experience riding the ‘stairway to heaven’: ‘Is it just me or do you guys also hallucinate when you look up or down?’
Former Angel resident Blaise Kelly, 27, however, has some fonder memories.
‘The Angel escalator is the perfect place to stand and just take in the day. It was often longer than my actual commute,’ she tells Metro.
Of course it wasn’t all sunshine and roses: ‘I do remember one awkward ride. I was stood with a boy that I was in a situationship with at the bottom of the escalator, and by the time we reached the top, things were over.’
Alongside being enormously steep, the Angel escalators are also infamous for breaking down.
In April, one of the transport hub’s three 200ft escalators failed, and TfL now fears the second could soon suffer a similar fate.
To try and avoid this, TFL has revealed that the station may need to close for up to a year to carry out vital maintenance work.
Reportedly, officials are considering making the station exit-only during off-peak times from next month to allow for some initial repairs to be completed.
The closure would cause significant disruption to the local community. But, on the bright side, terrifyingly tall escalators might finally stop haunting their dreams.