TARDIS Chasing Around The World
I know I am a nerd. Specifically, a SciFi nerd. I have had many nerdy moments throughout the years but, by far, my nerdiest moment to date came when I accidentally went TARDIS chasing.
A TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) is a specific reference to a decades-old British television series called Doctor Who. This series is about a time traveling alien who is on a never-ending quest to understand the fine balance between good and evil. Moreover, this time traveler endures a multitude of lessons about when they should interfere in history and when they should not. And their TARDIS is their time machine that is disguised as a blue police telephone box. Which is fitting, because this time machine often lands in the United Kingdom, of all places throughout space and time.
What do I mean when I say I “accidentally” went TARDIS chasing? What I mean is it was only somewhat intentional. In 2019, I went to the United Kingdom with my brother (a fellow Doctor Who nerd). We very intentionally had listed on our itinerary to see the blue Police Public Call Box outside of Earl Court’s tube station in London. A box that looks a lot like the TARDIS on the television show. And we loved it!
What we did not expect is that, just a few days later, we would stumble upon another one by accident in Glasgow. And thus my interest in TARDIS chasing began. And I wanted to know how many exist in the world so that I can one day visit.
So here they are for both you and me. A little written map (a visual one might be cheating?) to help you with your TARDIS chasing.
London
- Outside of Earl Court’s tube station. This TARDIS has been here since 1996, and was actually funded by the London Underground in conjunction with local businesses who provided many of the materials to build it. It was used for a few years to give protection to local police monitoring the entrance to this tube station. But ultimately in 2005, its function had more or less fully transformed into a tourist attraction. Which is the same year the new age seasons of Doctor Who began to air, after a long gap from the vintage seasons.
Glasgow
Almost all of the TARDIS boxes on this list are located in Glasgow, Scotland. That is not because the Scottish are particularly stronger Doctor Who fans than other nationalities. It has more to do with the fact that Glasgow has most of the remaining police call boxes in the United Kingdom. And the police call box design is what the TARDIS was based on. So in this “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” situation, we know it was the egg.
And to complicate it more, the history of police boxes in Glasgow indicates that they were historically painted red and not the blue color of the TARDIS. But the police boxes mentioned below are now blue. So maybe the “chicken” came second, but very intentionally?
- Near Barrowland Park. This is a public park in Glasgow that has a TARDIS that, as of 2014, still has a functioning phone. You can find it along London Road.
- Crossing of High Street and Cathedral Street. This police box is almost entirely blue but has one remaining red panel from the days of its actual use in the city.
- Crossing of Wilson Street and Glassford Street. This police box is also mostly blue, but with one small panel still painted red.
- On Buchanan Street. This box seems to have changed both color and purposes (think of selling coffee and hot dogs) over the years. So there is no guarantee that it is still blue. And the most recent research seems to indicate that it may now be green.
- On Great Western Road. This is another box that has had changing purposes throughout the years but was mostly used as a coffee shop. You can find it in between the railings at the edge of the Glasgow Botanical Gardens.
North Yorkshire
- At the Wetherby Police Station. The location of this police public call box makes sense, as it is located just outside of a police station.
Detroit
- On Warren Avenue in Detroit, Michigan in the USA. Some might say the contents of this TARDIS make it most authentic to the one in the series. Because this TARDIS is a public library book borrowing box, giving readers the opportunities to transport time, place, and even into fantasy lands (more than the actual TARDIS can do). And I think any regeneration of The Doctor would agree that a miniature library is the best replica of the TARDIS for the public.
Honorary Mention
There was once a TARDIS in London Heathrow Airport. Specifically, in Terminal 5. It was installed in the airport to honor the show’s 50th anniversary in 2013. It acted as a photo booth for the duration of its installation.
You may find other TARDIS or police public call boxes scattered throughout the world. For example, in museums or Doctor Who exhibitions. Some people may have even painted their mailboxes like a TARDIS or built their personal police box in their backyard. But, clearly, a visit to the United Kingdom can allow you to hunt for most of them. Here is a handy little map of most of the police boxes mentioned in the United Kingdom. Happy TARDIS hunting!
