[London Transport Museum]

FACTS people, what do we know about Baker Street?

Sherlock Holmes lived there; you can always nip into the giant Wetherspoons known as The Metropolitan for a wee without the bar staff asking you to buy a drink; Blockbusters host Bob Holness played sax on the Gerry Rafferty song; and the tube stop was the London under­ground’s first station.

Of course, yes, yes, the Bob Holness on brass stuff is an urban myth, and he actually played keytar on Wham’s Club Tropicana. I think.

But let’s go with the station history stuff because, opened in 1863, Baker Street is often billed as the entire world’s first underground station.

Yes and it looks like it, you may be saying – but now’s the chance to see its really ancient limbs, as the London Transport Museum is about to start taking bookings for a behind- the-scenes look.

As part of the Hidden London ticket, train buffs can give up the summer daylight to see disused lift shafts, old staff canteens and parts of the building which the public have not seen for the best part of a century.

It joins Euston, Charing Cross and Aldwych with the all access treatment. The first tickets go on sale next week.

You might even learn some more interesting facts than I could muster today.