Volunteer Telford

Stroll alongside part of the Shropshire canal, don a hard hat and walk underground in the Tar Tunnel, where an amazing source of natural bitumen was discovered 200 years ago.

Put on your hard hat and venture underground into the eerie brick-lined tar tunnel. Treacle-like black bitumen is still oozing through the walls and welling up in puddles.

Step inside the Tar Tunnel and discover where miners digging in 1787 struck a spring of natural bitumen which has seeped out of the walls for over 200 years.

• Crouch down to peer inside miniature caverns and see the thick tranquil pools of liquid tar
• Children will love putting on a hard hat and going underground
• See how the early industrialists of the Gorge overcame the natural obstacles
• Take a look at the extraordinary Hay Inclined Plane, a nifty invention designed in the early 1790s to move tub boats between the Shropshire canal at the top of the hill and the Coalport canal at the bottom

The Tar Tunnel is only a short walk from Coalport China Museum, alongside the Shropshire Canal. You should allow around 20 minutes for a visit to the Tar Tunnel. The nearest café is a 5 minute drive away at the Blists Hill Victorian Town’s Entrance café.