Portsmouth entrepreneur wins gold at 2026 Independent Toy Awards for her Destination The Repair Shop board game
Family board game takes top prize
A Portsmouth board game designer has won a top award for a version of her popular Destination series inspired by a BBC television show.
Rachel Lowe created Destination London over 20 years ago while working as a taxi driver and attending the University of Portsmouth. Since then a number of different versions have been released with the latest iteration, Destination The Repair Shop, taking home gold at the 2026 Independent Toy Awards.
The award is voted for by the UK’s independent toy retailers who picked Rachel’s creation for gold in the licensed category . The family board game sees players become guardians of heirlooms, travelling around the board in their own Repair Shop van, collecting treasured items and returning them to the famous barn to earn Repair Shop Stars.
Rachel said: "Winning Gold for Destination The Repair Shop is incredibly special, particularly because the Independent Toy Awards are voted for by independent toy retailers. I created the first Destination game more than 20 years ago, so to see the brand continuing to evolve and being recognised in this way means a great deal to me.
"The Repair Shop is such a warm and much-loved programme, and from the beginning I wanted the game to capture that same feeling of nostalgia, storytelling and the importance we place on treasured possessions.
"I'm incredibly proud of what we created and very grateful to Tvadswork and everyone who helped bring the project to life."
Tvadswork is an advertising agency that worked with Rachel to help develop the The Repair Shop version of the game.
Andrew Telling of Tvadswork said: "We're incredibly proud to have partnered with Rachel on this project. It's been fantastic to be part of the journey from concept through to finished product, and even better to see Destination The Repair Shop recognised with Gold by the UK's independent toy retailers."
The Destination London board game rose to prominence in 2005 when Rachel appeared on the first series of Dragon’s Den to pitch her concept. Since then, the board game has had a number of versions including Portsmouth, New York, Paris, as well themed versions such as Downton Abbey, Hogwarts and Christmas.
Rachel is now working on the next version to celebrate Portsmouth centenary with a Portsmouth100 version. It will take players on a journey through the city’s history, featuring 100 destinations spanning a century of Portsmouth from 1926 to 2026.