Kynren's expanded outdoor theatrical spectacular, The Storied Lands, has been named one of just three finalists for the Best UK Tourism Project award at the 2026 British Guild of Travel Writers International Tourism Awards.
The County Durham attraction added a new theme park this year called The Storied Lands, billed as the UK's first live action show park. This result of a multi-million-pound investment includes live shows and immersive new experiences, such as The Trusty Steed; bird-inspired show The Lost Feather and Fina, a medieval horse show showcasing rider stunts. Other newcomers are Victorian Imaginariums, described as an adventure through gas-lit streets of Victorian England, and Land of the Vikings.
Travel writer nomination
The new day-time additions - also including Legend of the Wear, about the Lambton Worm myth with water stunts and special effects, and a Taste of Time Travellers Feast - have clearly delighted visitors to its vast 7.5-acre site in Bishop Auckland where Kynren, produced by charity 11Arches and already an award-winner, plays out on Saturday evenings through the summer.
Among the visitors was renowned travel writer and broadcaster Petra Shepherd who came as part of a North East media trip and nominated Kynren - The Stories Lands in the Best UK Tourism Project category. This nomination by Guild member Petra, an award-winning travel broadcaster, led to Kynren - The Storied Lands being voted onto the final shortlist by members of the British Guild of Travel Writers.
Petra said: “The Storied Lands immediately struck me as something genuinely different in UK tourism. I was particularly impressed by The Lost Feather and the way spectacle, storytelling and conservation are brought together but there is also a much bigger story here about what Kynren is doing for Bishop Auckland and the region. “The International Tourism Awards are about identifying projects we have experienced ourselves and believe deserve wider recognition, and I felt Kynren was a very strong example of exactly that.”
Finalists and upcoming events
It is now up against Gorta - Swatragh’s Famine Story in County Derry Londonderry and London’s Museum of Homelessness for the award, with the three finalists having all been visited, nominated and voted for by Guild members.
Kynren's chief executive Anna Warnecke said: “To be one of only three finalists for Best UK Tourism Project in our first season is something everyone at Kynren can be incredibly proud of. What makes this particularly special is that the nomination came from a travel writer who had experienced The Storied Lands for herself and the shortlist was then decided by members of the Guild. "We set out to create something genuinely different for UK tourism while bringing more visitors to Bishop Auckland and the wider North East." She added: “To see The Storied Lands recognised in this way just a few months after opening is a wonderful endorsement of what the whole team has created."
The winner of the award is set to be announced at the British Guild of Travel Writers' annual gala awards dinner in London on November 2. Kynren, which is planning a Pyromusical - a 25-minute display of fireworks set to music - on October 31, has also announced its dates for 2027, which will see Kynren run on Saturdays between July 17 and September 11, with extra dates added on Fridays, August 13 and 27, and the day-time The Storied Lands opening from July 6 to September 11.
