A new theme park years in the making is set to open its doors in Bishop Auckland this month – and The Northern Echo has taken an exclusive look around to see what visitors can expect.
Kynren - The Storied Lands opens on Saturday, July 18 on the site which has hosted the spectacular outdoor show since 2016.
The Storied Lands was publicly announced in February last year, with planning approval for the first phase granted by Durham County Council two months later. Construction and rehearsals then took place through late 2025 and into this year.
The park is the brainchild of the 11Arches charity, which has spent years developing the daytime attraction as a complement to its already popular summer evening show.
It is billed as the UK's first live-action historical theme park – replacing conventional rides with six fully-staged, immersive live shows spanning 2,000 years of history, myth and legend.
The Echo was among the first media to attend a preview of the site ahead of opening, with the park's centrepiece bird of prey spectacular – The Lost Feather – among the highlights on show.
Eagles soar overhead, a Viking warrior draws his sword and a monstrous beast rises from a lake, in what the creators promise is unlike anything else in Britain.
What is The Storied Lands?
Built on the same site as the already-legendary Kynren night show, The Storied Lands is the UK's first live-action historical theme park.
Rather than roller coasters and queues for rides, visitors walk through a series of six immersive, fully-staged shows set against purpose-built landscapes – from Neolithic Britain to a medieval jousting arena, with Vikings, Victorian street theatre and a spectacular water show in between.
It is the most ambitious project yet undertaken by 11Arches, the charity behind the original Kynren show that has drawn visitors from across the UK to Bishop Auckland every summer since 2016.
The Lost Feather
The Lost Feather is a conservation-led bird spectacular performed in a 3,600-capacity outdoor arena styled as a giant bird's nest.
Free-flying falcons, vultures, macaws, rose-breasted cockatoos and African crowned cranes perform above and through the audience in sequences that feel more like wildlife documentary than theme park entertainment.
The show is underpinned by a message about the ancient bond between humans and birds, and it carries genuine emotional weight.
Six shows, one journey
The full experience takes visitors on a walk-through journey across six chapters of history and legend.
The arc runs from Fruma, an atmospheric retelling of Neolithic Britain, through to Land of the Vikings – a full-contact Norse battle with live fire – before a gaslit Victorian Adventure show and the water spectacular Legend of the Wear, in which the cursed Lambton Worm rises from a real lake in a stunt sequence that has to be seen to be believed.
The grand finale is Fina, a medieval jousting and horsemanship spectacular in which a female warrior takes on all-comers in what the park describes as its biggest, most spectacular show.
From night show to full destination
The original Kynren – An Epic Tale of England first took to the stage in 2016, using a 7.5-acre outdoor theatre – the size of five football pitches - and a 1,000-strong volunteer cast drawn entirely from the local community.
The Saturday night show continues to run through the summer alongside The Storied Lands, running from July through September.
The Storied Lands transforms the site into a full day destination for the first time, open Tuesday to Sunday throughout the season.
Future phases will add further shows including a Roman soldier story, the legend of King Arthur, and Robin Hood.
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Visiting
Kynren – The Storied Lands opens on Saturday, July 18 and runs until Saturday, September 12.
The park is open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays, and on Saturday evenings when the night show is running).
Advance saver tickets start from £30 for adults and £20 for children.
The site is at 11Arches Park, Bishop Auckland, County Durham.
