Kynren — Attraction in Bishop Auckland

After attending an amazing full day at Kynren on Saturday 21st Aug 2021, I'd like to share a detailed review with readers, as I want to ensure I can provide you as much useful information as possible. Happy reading and photo-browsing! :)

[Please make sure you carefully read through the website pages to get the full details of prices and what to expect]

Parking -- there is ample parking, on the day it was very well coordinated, with signposting from the main road, and lots of volunteers guiding us to parking spots - about 6-7 cars would arrive at one time, all in a smooth fashion, plenty of distance between cars to easily open doors. Costs = £7 all-day parking, you will be emailed a ticket, make sure to cut and display the parking sign with the details, on your dashboard (see photo in my review).

Shuttle buses -- you can choose to walk from the car park to the venue entrance (approx 15 minutes), or you can pay £2 per person (return ticket) and enjoy a nice 5-minute double-decker bus ride via a shuttle service. We paid for the tickets (and so glad we did, as after a long day we didn't have the energy to walk all the way uphill to the car park). There are volunteers at the entrance of the bus, who give you wristbands of different colours based on the type of attraction ticket you purchased (e.g. red for daytime ticket, yellow for daytime + evening ticket). Everything was well coordinated, there were numerous buses and queue management was smooth. Arriving at the ticket office -- make sure you print out your tickets (daytime/evening, parking sign, shuttle bus ticket) as you will have to show them - coordinators will scan the QR codes found on the tickets. This was nice and smooth, there was a separate queue for VIP tickets (if you purchased VIP seats for Kynren evening show - we did (similar to priority boarding). The Georgian Shop - this is a gift shop, well-stocked and reasonable prices. On Saturday, it poured with rain, and we decided to buy some rain ponchos to put on top of our waterproof jackets. The ponchos were £5 per person (adults), and £4 for kids. Loved the colours, very good material, and had the KYNREN writing on it, which makes for a nice keepsake. Toilet facilities - the toilets had good capacity, very clean and spacious. (see photos in my review). Even though there were queues in the evening before Kynren show, it was all smooth as there were plenty of cubicles available (there are also disabled toilets, and baby changing facilities). Food - there was a Food Court, where you could order snacks, but also various companies serving street-food style meals - options to choose from fish and chips, barms, chicken burgers, paninis, gourmet grill sandwiches, roast meat sandwiches. There were also plenty of places to buy hot drinks. We had the fresh cod + chips (£9.50 per person) and a cold soft drink. There was plenty of seating in two large covered marquees, and tables were quite distanced from each other. Later on in the evening, we purchased a hot chocolate and a cappuccino, priced at £3 each. Prices are higher than usual, but if you fancy trying, it's a nice atmosphere to enjoy food and drinks, as we made a full day out of it, so treated it as a whole experience.

Seating for Kynren show (starts at 8.30pm), and for Fina & The Golden Cape (starts at 5pm) - we purchased VIP tickets (priced at £60 per person)- the seats were in the middle of the tribune, offering good visibility overall, and the seats were cushioned. I agree with other reviewers here, who did mention that the leg space is quite limited. (see photos in my review for what the seats look like). The tickets range from seats in the Standard, Superior, and VIP areas. The standard seats will be at the margin of either left or right of the tribune, so it depends on what your preference is.

Overall, an absolutely amazing experience, the evening show was incredible, photos don't do it enough justice! I strongly recommend the daytime ticket, the viking village is amazing, and all the volunteers are chatty and...

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12 things you want to know before going (The show is brilliant, that's a given): 1- from carpark C to Kynren is about 15mins walk. Down hill gravel path. It's not bad, and beats waiting in long queues for the busses. But it does mean uphill on the way back! If you can walk, do it. You avoid the queues after the show, and you can leave easily without being stuck in traffic. Wear comfortable footwear.

2- You will be bag seached for food and selfie sticks. Don't bring any. (If you NEED to bring food/drink, use your jacket pockets!). That said, you don't need to worry about food....

3- ...they have catering, and it's very well organised (they must have listened to last year's feedback). very spacious area, queues are quick. And surprisingly, ok priced. Feels like the owner actually cares about the visitors coming to enjoy the event and not just rip them off like all other venues. (£2 for can of pop, £2 for a good size portion of chips, £5 for a very large Greek Salad, £1.50 for a tea, Etc They even have Dairy Free milk!!!

4- Toilet facilities are good. Plenty of dedicated toilet blocks and disabled toilets. Toilets are well maintained and actually have a great one-way system to keep it in order.

5- Come early as there is a pre-show water/music show to keep you entertained while you eat and wait to enter main arena. Again, there is a lot of space.

FOR THE SHOW: 6- The seating is on graduted levels. Great views from all seats as the stage is very wide. But for the best viewing angle of the full stage (without having to keep turning head) you really want to book rows between L to U If you love/want to take very good, uninterrupted (without audience) photos, you need to be in Row A (so no heads in front of your camera!) I was Row C in Delux block, it was a great view, but some tops of the heads were in my photos!

7- Seats are basic plastic bucket seats that do not fold. The seats are not very wide or comfortable and leave very little leg room for anyone to pass in front of you. Bring a cushion if you need one. Only VIP block get comfy folding cushioned wider seats. See photos.

8- The temperature plummets as the night goes on! No matter how sunny it is during the day, the sun goes down behind the seating block, and it gets cold, Quick. just before the show starts. It's really colder than you expect. Bring that fleece or jumper you were thinking about, You’ll be glad you did. If you are susceptible to cold- be ready to wrap up and bring a blanket too. Don't let the unexpected temp drop to ruin your great entertainment! If it's due to rain, wear boots and wrap up even more!

9- This is an immersive show, there is a lot going on, the seats will rumble (huge sub-speakers under the seating block!), your eyes will be kept alive, and your ears will have great fun.

10- yes, there are fireworks, but the organisers have used ones that are as quiet as possible. There are a few "pops" but no loud 5th Nov style bangs. (Don't worry, the horses and other animals are kept off stage and well away during fireworks! ).

11- it was a great evening of entertainment, and I'd definitely take others...

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O LORDY MAMA... visted Kynren last night...and my head is absolutely BUZZING...really didnt know what to expect.... I havent really been to any West End Shows/Disneyland etc... but this was easily one of the best experiences of my life...and i

m 67!! I

ll mention some practical things later...but for now---the absolute SPECTACLE of Kynren... the story of Us and Our Local History is brought to life in such a meaningful way... the ANIMALS...the MOVEMENT.... the PEOPLE... the FIRE...the FIREWORKS... the PROPS.... are just amazingballs. Wont be specific so as not to spoil it... but I cant say this with any mor conviction..... YOU MUST GO! Simple as that... it is just utterly fantastic. So...few things... I

m a Blue Badger..but was full apparently so it was TWELVE BAR to park...nah.... yer getting RINSED here... that is robbery...and just a money making thing..AND yer a 15/20 min walk away down and uphill...although there ARE shuttle buses. We went early...in retrospect---a mistake I felt. The Viking Village is well touted in the write ups... but we were herded through...shuffling along the dusty track...and whilst its OK...thats all it is... 10mins and yer done...so it ended up we were sat around for ages waiting for the show. The Staff.... to a tee...every single one...were UNBELIEVABLE...so friendly and helful and informative...all Volunteers too. I COMMEND THEM ALL! Food n Drink.... what you

d expect... Burger,chips, Hot Chocolate,Can Beer...£18... other stalls for ice cream, snacks and Tat....big queues...but well organised and efficient. The overall atmosphere was ELECTRIC... the anticipation of the people was palpable. I think the way the Entrances are maked is a little confusing...and I could see people stood ...scratching their heads. Like we were in JJ 184/183... but you only see the JJ bit once you are in and up in the Gods. The seats ARE small and yer crammed in like maggots in a bait box. Unfortunately...we were sat behind the three biggest specimens in the History of Mankind...so poor Pine Top, me Grandson didnt get a good view at all :-( Make no bones...this isnt a cheap experience... we were in Superior Seats... but in all honesty...certainly didnt FEEL like it...so my advice would be...its a one off... SPLASH OUT and get best seats you can. Its a fair old walk back up the winding track to the car if you dont get the bus...but I took me time and did it. The Car Park Stewards do a great job in getting yer in and out... its obviously busy getting out. All in All...it was the most uplifting experience I`ve had in a long time and i would say to anybody wondering about going... DO IT...GO! it really is the most magical of...

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