Our roving family the Charlesworths have been out and about again this summer, reporting back on special events and things to do during the holidays. This time they tell Andrew Palmer just how good the York Dungeon Experience really was.

Can an 8-year-old, an 11-year-old, a 13-year-old and a parent all walk out of the same attraction and agree on anything? The Charlesworths have just proved it's possible. Verdict, delivered in unison:

We really enjoyed that

.

Getting there took some doing. Over 75 minutes underground, the family found themselves chanting "keep the southerners out", watching a woman wrongly convicted before their eyes, and witnessing their own father fail, quite spectacularly, to lift a Viking barrel in front of a room full of strangers. Whether that room counted as an audience or as reluctant participants is, frankly, still up for debate.

The Charlesworth's at Turpin's grave

Following their experience, the family walked to see the grave of John Palmer, aka Dick Turpin, who is buried in York at St George's Graveyard, Lead Mill Lane, within the city walls not far from the Barbican theatre. Turpin was executed on April 7, 1739, after being hanged at the Knavesmire gallows in York under his alias John Palmer.Because that's the trick of the York Dungeon: you don't just watch the story, you're pulled into it. And parents will know that however atmospheric a place is, however clever the sets, there's only one review that actually counts — did the kids enjoy it?

The family walked back into central York in complete silence. It took several minutes before anyone spoke. When they finally did, each answer told its own story. "The hairs on the back of my neck are still standing up," said the 13-year-old. "It was really interactive and I felt part of the story," said the 11-year-old, already sounding like a critic in training. And the 8-year-old, having just watched someone lose their tongue for saying too much, could only manage one word: "wow."

Hats off — or perhaps that should be heads off — to the cast of characters the family met along the way. There's plenty here that's best left unspoiled, but the storylines, the tension and the level of detail are all pitched exactly right: dark enough to properly unsettle, never so much that it tips into genuinely uncomfortable territory. There are, though, some wonderfully clever moments along the way. Quite how the Mayor of York's mace went missing on the family's watch remains a mystery, though Mr Turpin was clearly involved somehow.

There's never been a better moment to go. This year marks the York Dungeon's 40th anniversary, and it's celebrating with its most ambitious addition yet: Guy Fawkes: The Final Hour, running from 18th July to 5th September and included in general admission. For the first time, York's most notorious son is played by a live actor, awaiting execution in the final hour before his fate is sealed. Villain, revolutionary, or a man driven by conviction? The new show digs beneath the legend to expose the story behind the Gunpowder Plot, building to one last secret before time runs out.

It's a fitting way to mark four decades of bringing York's darker history to life, a milestone that kicked off in July with a visit from the town crier, the Lord Mayor of York, and a certain Dick Turpin. General manager Mark Mattinson called Fawkes "one of York's most legendary characters", adding that the new show was designed to be "genuinely gripping" for visitors marking the anniversary alongside the attraction.

The Charlesworths' advice? Go and see it for yourself — before you end up in the stocks.

For more information and tickets click here.