A map for Kynren - The Storied Lands
We were really excited to work with Kynren to help produce a map for "Kynren - The Storied Lands", their new daytime show park. This park was a completely new concept, offering five immersive live shows and immersive experiences, held in purpose-built stages, arenas and sets.
This project was an exciting opportunity. Unlike most other maps we have worked on, the site was not complete when we began working on creating the map illustrations, with many roads and structures still under construction. Whilst this was challenging, we had support from Matthew at Kynren, who provided invaluable daily updates, showing the changes taking place.
As this was a brand-new attraction, it was a brilliant opportunity to create an illustration style to fit with the theme of "Kynren - The Storied Lands", and we chose a traditional painted style.
Kynren is completely unique in that it has five fully immersive shows, with visitors having an allocated time to visit each show. A vital part of the brief was to place great importance on clearly directing visitors to each show on time, as well as ensuring that the map was accurate and functional.
About Kynren
Kynren is a multi-award-winning live spectacle in Bishop Auckland, County Durham. Kynren is a charity and its signature experience is Kynren - An Epic Tale of England – a 90-minute night show staged on a vast outdoor set with hundreds of performers and animals. 2026 saw the launch of Kynren – The Storied Lands, the UK’s first live-action show park, with five spectacular live-actions shows and experiences.
Kynren is one of the UK’s most ambitious live-action attractions, a blend of immersive daytime experiences and a huge outdoor night show that retells 2,000 years of English history with theatre, stunts, horses, pyrotechnics and large-scale sets.
Why have an illustrated map?
Colour Heroes’ illustrated maps work exceptionally well for live-action theme parks like Kynren because they solve a very real problem attractions face: helping visitors navigate a large, story-driven environment while keeping the magic alive. They make complex, multi-zone, live-action parks easy to understand, visually exciting and family-friendly, all while reinforcing the storytelling that parks like Kynren rely on.
Live-action parks rely on narrative immersion. Illustrated maps:
Present each zone (Viking Settlement, Victorian Imaginariums, as part of an immersive world for visitors to step inside.
Use characters, icons and motifs that match the park’s themes
Help visitors feel the story before they even reach the show area
For Kynren, this means the map becomes part of the "Epic Tale of England" the night show depicts rather than a flat, functional diagram. The map becomes a branded asset, not just a utility.
Kynren attracts families with children of all ages. Our Illustrated maps:
Use colour-coding and simple visual cues
Make routes, zones and facilities instantly recognisable
Reduce stress for parents trying to plan their day
Encourage children to engage with the site like a treasure hunt
This increases dwell time and improves the overall experience. At Colour Heroes we specialise in maps that match an attraction’s personality. For Kynren, that means:
Historical textures
Storybook illustration styles
Iconography that fits Romans, Vikings, Tudors, Victorians
We worked to a tight deadline and were delighted to see the map in situ on site, displayed on a wooden frame with ropes to give an authentic feel to the setting.
Delivering this project on time was critical for the opening of the brand-new site and our client relationship with Matthew from Kynren was an essential part to the success. We were delighted receive the below testimonial from Matthew.
Absolutely fantastic – Colour Heroes created our park map during the build phase and in a short space of time, to an excellent standard. Nothing was too much trouble!
Matthew Henderson – Head of Development Projects – Kynren