For Greek Cypriots in London the Piccadilly line is the home line: Cockfosters, Southgate and Wood Green at one end, Heathrow and the flight to Larnaca or Athens at the other. This weekend it stops completely. From Saturday 31 October to the end of Sunday 1 November there is no service anywhere on the line, Heathrow included, and the Night Tube is off on Friday and Saturday night. Here is how to get around it, and where to find a coffee or a souvlaki on the way.
The northern branch of the map reads like a list of Greek and Cypriot neighbourhoods: Cockfosters, Oakwood, Southgate, Arnos Grove, Bounds Green, Wood Green, Turnpike Lane, with Palmers Green in between. Add that the same line is the cheapest way to Heathrow and you see why a weekend closure matters more to Greek Cypriots in London than to most.
The timing is awkward too: Halloween is one of the busiest nights of the year, the Greek List Halloween party is on Saturday at the Elysée, and plenty of families are flying to or from Cyprus and Greece. Secret London flagged the closure this week; better to plan now than to find out on the platform.
TfL is shutting the line for engineering work tied to the Piccadilly line upgrade, which brings in the new walk through trains between December 2026 and June 2027. This week:
Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October: no service between Cockfosters and Uxbridge. Friday night: no Piccadilly line Night Tube. Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November: no service on the entire line, Cockfosters to Heathrow and Uxbridge, and no Night Tube on Saturday either.
Diary the next one too: on 21 and 22 November there is no service between Hammersmith and Heathrow or Uxbridge, so the airport is cut off again.
Getting there: every other Underground line, the Elizabeth line, the Overground and National Rail run as normal. The problem is only the dark blue line.
For Greek Cypriots in London with a weekend flight to Larnaca or Paphos, and for anyone flying to Athens or Thessaloniki, the answer is Paddington. The Elizabeth line serves Terminals 2 and 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5, takes roughly half an hour from Paddington, and you tap in with Oyster or contactless as usual. The Heathrow Express does Paddington to Terminals 2 and 3 in about 15 minutes and continues to Terminal 5, but it is a separate fare and far cheaper booked online in advance.
Coming back, follow the purple Elizabeth line signs, not the dark blue ones, and allow an extra 30 minutes because everyone who normally uses the Piccadilly line will be on the same platforms. If you booked through a Greek travel agent, this is the weekend a quick call to Vozis Travel pays off: they can tell you how much slack your Athens connection has and rebook if the airline moves things.
Getting there: Paddington is on the Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Elizabeth lines, so it is reachable from almost anywhere without the Piccadilly line.
Greek stop nearby: It’s All Greek To Me on Praed Street, opposite Paddington station, for a gyros wrap or a freddo before the train, open until late every night. Ten minutes towards Hyde Park, Halepi on Leinster Terrace is one of the oldest Greek Cypriot restaurants in the city, the right place for a kleftiko send off if you have time before you fly.
This is the part that affects most Greek Cypriots in London. With the northern branch closed, the quickest way in is the Great Northern line to Moorgate: trains call at Palmers Green, Winchmore Hill, Grange Park, Enfield Chase, Bowes Park and Alexandra Palace, stop at Finsbury Park for the Victoria line, and reach Moorgate in about 25 minutes from Palmers Green. From Southgate, Oakwood or Cockfosters take a local bus to Palmers Green or New Southgate and pick the train up there.
Buses do the rest. The 29 runs from Wood Green to Trafalgar Square and the 141 links Palmers Green with Wood Green, Moorgate and London Bridge. On Friday and Saturday night the N29 and N91 run all night from Trafalgar Square, the N91 shadowing the Piccadilly line through Wood Green, Arnos Grove and Southgate to Cockfosters, so you can still get home from the party. The Victoria line Night Tube reaches Finsbury Park and Seven Sisters if someone can collect you there.
Getting there: Great Northern trains run roughly every 15 minutes at weekends and accept Oyster and contactless at Tube zone fares.
Greek stop nearby: Borneo Cafe Bakery on Green Lanes, Palmers Green, opens at 6am on Saturday and 7am on Sunday, the obvious stop for a tyropita and coffee before the train. In East Barnet, Source of Life Bakehouse on East Barnet Road is a short bus ride from Oakwood and Cockfosters and bakes the sourdough and Greek pies you want on a long bus journey.
In the centre the closure is a nuisance rather than a crisis, because every Piccadilly line station has a neighbour on another line. For Russell Square and the Brunswick Centre walk ten minutes from King’s Cross St Pancras or Euston. Holborn keeps the Central line, Covent Garden is five minutes from Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus has the Bakerloo, Green Park the Victoria and Jubilee, South Kensington the District and Circle. Knightsbridge and Hyde Park Corner are the awkward ones: bus or walk from Green Park.
Good news for anyone coming to the Greek List Halloween party on Saturday: the Elysée on Percy Street is served by Goodge Street and Tottenham Court Road, neither affected, and the Northern and Central Night Tube will get you home afterwards. Only the Piccadilly line will not be there at 3am.
Getting there: Tottenham Court Road and King’s Cross St Pancras keep all of Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia reachable this weekend.
Greek stop nearby: Nostimo at 9 Brunswick Centre sits right next to the closed Russell Square station, opens until 11.30pm, and is worth the ten minute walk from King’s Cross for its grills and Sunday lunch.
Give yourself time: TfL is asking everyone to allow extra, and that goes double on Halloween night when the Northern and Central lines carry the crowds the Piccadilly line normally shares. Check your route in the TfL Go app before you leave the house, not at a closed station, and for an early Sunday flight check the first Elizabeth line departures the night before. For Greek Cypriots in London who drive, the Elizabeth line also calls at Ealing Broadway and Hayes & Harlington, both easier to park at than central London.
It is also one of the busiest weeks of the year for Greek Cypriots in London and Greeks alike, and none of the events below depend on the Piccadilly line. The Greek List events page is the most complete list of Greek events in the UK, and listing your own event is free. In the next ten days:
The restaurants, bakeries and travel agency in this guide are Greek List members. More than 100,000 Greeks and Cypriots in the UK read Greek List every month on the site, in the newsletter and in the Ellines sto Londino Facebook group, and Greek List listings rank first on Google for searches like “Greek bakery Palmers Green”. If you want your business in front of them, this is where it starts.
Know a better route from Southgate on a closed weekend, or a Greek stop we missed? Share it with the community in the Facebook group Ellines sto Londino.
