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Luxury North East hotel Wynyard Hall has strengthened its ambitious development plans with the appointment of a talented estate manager.
Sara Fortune, 32, will oversee visitor attractions at Wynyard Hall, heading up the visitor centre and staff, and planning events and activities in its historic parkland and gardens.
Undergoing a major restoration project, Wynyard’s 150-acres of parkland has often been eclipsed by its luxurious hotel and spa, but Fortune – who has over a decades experience in the visitor attraction business, most recently as estate manager at Hardwick Country Park, Sedgefield, the third largest visitor attraction in County Durham – says she plans to enhance Wynyard Hall’s reputation by establishing The Gardens as one of the most visited attractions in the North East.
“I’m so excited to be helping to take Wynyard Hall forward into its next stage of development, whilst still maintaining its unique conservation and historical importance. A lot of people, even those living locally, have thought of Wynyard as just a hotel but in fact that’s just one part of what we do here,” says Fortune, who increased the number of visitors to the Hardwick Park visitor centre to more than half a million every year.
“The Wynyard Hall estate is a real gem, and we want to make it not just a destination for hotel guests and newlyweds but for families too. We want to encourage more people to come and explore, go for walks and have picnics with their children. We’ll be running workshops in the gardens, where people can learn a new skill or volunteer as a ‘Friend’ of the Hall, and there will also be a packed diary of events. We want Wynyard to become the heart of the community.”
Fortune, who has a masters in Museum Studies and a BA in History, and whose past experience includes parks and countryside manager at Durham County Council and manager at a range of North East museum and gardens, is planning to introduce a series of outdoor theatre events this summer and workshops at Wynyard’s new edible gardens and spectacular glasshouses.