Kynren – The Storied Lands will soon transport visitors through history, myth and legend with a string of “breathtaking” live action performances on a scale unseen before in Bishop Auckland.
The theme park may have only been announced in February, but talks have been ongoing for years over how to expand Kynren – and now there’s a “real buzz” for what’s next.
And, as thousands watched Kyrnen across this summer, crews have been busy getting spades in the ground for the exciting new development.
Speaking to The Northern Echo last month, in front of a huge picture of concept art for the theme park, chief executive officer Anna Warnecke lifted the lid on what visitors can look forward to at The Storied Lands.
Construction is already underway on the mammoth project, with steel frames being put in the ground for The Lost Feather show during the Echo’s tour.
Once open, The Lost Feather will immerse visitors in a 3,600-capacity bird nest arena, where they will be able to watch birds soar through the sky from the stands.
It is being created under the guidance of two leading figures in avian care, training, and conservation – Jimmy Robinson, curator of birds and conservation, and Andy Hallsworth, assistant curator of birds and training.
“The Lost Feather is already being built and the aviaries and birds are there”, Anna, 44, explained.
“It is still an enormous task, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not as crazy as it may sound. There’s a bit of talk of, oh, really? In a year? 
“If you wanted to start back from scratch, not a chance. But the infrastructure, whether that’s the toilet blocks or the Kynren stage, it’s all there.”
Next year will also see the launch of The Legend of the Wear, a giant lake with water stunts will tell the tale of the Lambton Worm myth, and Fina, a show where medieval knights will clash on horseback with daring stunts.
Other additions will eventually include a Viking show described as “multi-sensory spectacle of Norse life” and the arrival of an entire Victorian village, which has been purchased from the now-closed Flambards theme park in Cornwall.
And when the doors do open to the park, it will be the result of years worth of work planning behind the scenes.
Anna said: “[Talks were happening] from the beginning. When we got planning permission, we already had areas earmarked for future development.
“We always knew it’s time spent on site that we need to get more of so visitors get five to six hours of entertainment value.
“And at the moment, the biggest catchment area is an hour and a half drive, but we want to get to three, four hours drive, when you have a full day of attractions.
“So the thought was always there, but we really started working on it, on The Lost Feather, quite some time ago, but the other show was possibly a year and a half ago.
“When we started this properly, we designed all the shows and all the stories and the master plan of the park.
“And it’s great to have a master plan because then you can know exactly what you’re doing. We’ve never had that before.”
The first iteration of the park next year will then develop with more and more shows as time goes on, and whether that will bring yearly new additions or every two years is yet to be decided.
But Anna insists it is not just “blue sky thinking,” adding: “The designs are all there so it’s just the last bits that will go into planning.
“And we have a huge amount of support from Durham County Council officers as well, the local community, obviously from our archers.
“But there is a real buzz about the next steps coming.”
Kynren is recruiting 170 extra staff to run The Storied Lands, which aims to be open from Wednesday to Sunday when it first launches.
And, in five years time, the park will indirectly have made 614 new jobs.
But lovers of Kynren need not fear – bosses have assured that the show – officially titled Kynren – An Epic Tale of England – will continue on Saturday nights with its 1,000-strong cast and crew of volunteers.
‘Bright future’ for County Durham
Former five-star eventer Anna, who was born in Berlin, Germany, said she feels there is a “lot of trust” being placed in her and husband Graham Emerson in the park’s future.
The trust, of course, being placed by none other than Kynren founder turned Bishop Auckland philanthropist Jonathan Ruffer and his wife Jane.
Anna added: “[There is ] trust from Jonathan and Jane and our board of trustees that we have the best interests of Kynren at heart.
“We’re really, really grateful for being in this position and having been given this chance and we are not taking it lightly.
“We really work very hard on making sure that we have all the aspects under control.
“We love Kynren, so we just want to be here. So it’s nice that we enjoy both the operation of it and the creation of it.”
And once the theme park is fully open, what’s next?
Well, there are hopes that it could have 3.3 million visitors in its first five years, allowing for a staggering £200 million spent in County Durham as a result.
“County Durham at the moment is doing really well in terms of tourism with all the investment there has been”, Anna said.
“Whether that’s the Auckland Project, whether it’s Raby Castle, whether it’s Beamish doing really well. But together we’re getting really strong and recognisable.
“So I think there is a bright feature for us all here to see what tourism can do for us.”
There are hopes that the theme park could even entice hotel chains to open up: “On a Kynren night, all the local hotels are booked out every single one. All the Airbnbs are.
Read more on The Northern Echo’s Kynren at Ten series
“And that’s just with the Kynren nights.
“But if you now create an attraction that is open more months, it gives everybody the confidence to say, okay, yeah, I can make an Airbnb, I can have a caravan site.
“It’s hopefully a development that will then eventually also [apply] to hotel chains. It’s just [getting] everything at the right time.
“But there will be a huge amount of opportunities for anyone in this area.”
