With Turnpike Lane tube station virtually on our doorstep… It’s little wonder that at our Harringay branch we have spent over 17 years answering thousands of questions about the Piccadilly Line, and its transport links into and out of the area.

When the area offers a choice of three underground stations and a 15 minute tube ride into our great city, there are No prizes for guessing why Wood Green, Turnpike Lane, and Harringay (sometimes miss-spelled as Haringey), is so popular with people looking to lay down roots.

So anyway, it finally dawned on us… We should share more of this local knowledge about Turnpike Lane station and the Piccadilly Line.

No Airport.  You must be joking!

The area has so many underground stations and mainline stations, the only thing missing, thankfully, is an airport. Aha… but locals can simply hop onto the Piccadilly Line at Wood Green, Turnpike Lane, or Manor House, and travel all the way into the Heathrow terminals without changing.

There’s no need to make a song and dance about it…

Turnpike Lane has even had mentions in a couple of very well known songs. Razorlight made a cracker called ‘Los Angeles waltz’ which featured on their self-titled album ‘Razorlight’ in 2006, and there is Mark Knopfler’s song ‘Junkie Doll’ in which TPL gets another massive mention.  All very Rock and Roll!

Did you know?  The shortest stretch between tube stations is Leicester Square – Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line – only 0.16 miles.

Some people reckon that walking is faster than hopping on the tube if you take into consideration the stairs/escalators and barriers.

Are we nearly there yet?

Did you know?  The longest stretch of underground between stations (in London) is the stretch between Turnpike Lane and Manor House.

Turnpike Lane ‘The Designer Station’

Piccadilly line stations show a variety of architectural styles that reflect the line’s history. Turnpike Lane station was designed by Charles Holden who was (arguably) best known for his designs of some of the 1920s and 1930s stations.

Putting on the Ritz

On December the 30^th 1935, a cinema opened on the corner of Green Lanes and Carlingford Road.  It was called  ‘Ritz’, it was designed to blend in and compliment the notable architecture of TPL station. The Ritz quickly established itself as one of North London’s most popular cinemas.

Way ahead of its time… The Ritz had all the latest advances in cinema technology and even showed 3D movies way back in 1954. The Cinema changed hands several times over the years until London Transport bought it and closed it down on the 25^th March 1999.  It was demolished

in August 1999 to make way for a bigger bus terminal.