Eleven on the fear-o-meter…

As we descended into the darkness, I could sense in Wilson a growing unease, and as we stood at the foot of the stairs waiting for our eyes to grow used to the dim light, he remarked that he was very glad Antony and TT had not accompanied us. 

'They're not as brave as me,' he explained as he slipped his paw into my hand and gripped it tightly. 

I think the difference between these tunnels and Ironbridge's famous Tar Tunnel is that, where that was a single straight structure, here there are many turns and corners where a bogeyman might hide before jumping out at him.

Walking through the descending shaft, W sang tunelessly under his breath The Jam song 'Going Underground' — perhaps in an effort to control his nerves, or maybe to drown out the echoing sounds of distant voices and footsteps that ricocheted eerily off the walls…