Students today found themselves wading through a sea of people as the half-term school holidays began around the UK.
Many families headed for the museums as South Kensington, which have positioned extra staff outside to marshal the queues along Exhibition Road.
There were queues stretching around the block this lunchtime as people tried to access the Exhibition Road entrance of the Natural History Museum, whilst queues in both directions forced the Science museum to extend its queue barriers into the subway leading from South Kensington station.
A Science Museum spokesperson told Live!: "We understand that many people, particularly families with children of school age, are only able to visit the Museum during school holidays therefore the half-term week in both February and October are the busiest weeks of the year for the Science Museum. We always prepare for the increase in visitor numbers and this includes putting extra staff on the gallery floor and outside the Museum to ensure that all visitors get the most out of their time here".
South Kensington station was also badly hit, with crowds backing up onto the Circle and District line platform earlier today forcing TfL to open the barriers and temporarily make the station exit-only.
The half-term rush will undoubtedly continue for the rest of the week, providing a fantastic boost to the local area.
This is awkward timing for Exhibition Road, as last week work finally began on the main phase of the Exhibition Road "improvement" project, despite ongoing protests from disability groups.
To avoid the crowds and station disruption, students travelling to college via the Circle, District or Piccadilly lines may find it easier to alight at Gloucester Road station instead for the duration of the school holidays.
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