Narnia on the Tube - revisited

Calling all film buffs and London Underground Station architecture experts. Can you help John Keith with the following:

"I found your blog and was hoping you would have some information that might be interesting to me and your other readers.


As you know, from your previous post, the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, Prince Caspian, has a wonderful scene where the children enter into the Strand tube station, go underground, and are then whisked away to Narnia. At the end, of course, they are deposited back at the station.


I have never been into the Strand station. I am from the United States. I happen to be here this week, and now I'm obsessed with trying to figure out which station the filmmakers were trying to imitate.

You can watch the "teaser trailer" here in the "videos" section from the menu

Your blog fills in the blanks, but I'm still confused.

The Strand in the movie must be the Charing Cross Strand, if they are being historically accurate, since the Aldwych station had been closed between 1940-1946 for use as a air raid shelter on one platform and as storage on the other.

The exterior shots were filmed outside of England, though, so was the street design accurate, at all? Your blog says the "exterior shots appear to be recreating the Strand at Charing Cross". I am confused as to where this is, at the current Charing Cross station - that station is a big huge six-story building and doesn't seem to look anything like the exterior shot in the film.

Have you thought to write a new entry on your (excellent) blog with more information? I would love to know exact details of what is accurate and totally made up - one commenter, for example, says the real station did not have tiles on both sides.

Thanks for any help you may provide!".

Well I hope that someone else can help John as I've sort of exhausted all knowledge I have on the subject.