In the middle of Cornwall, England near the town of St Austell, England is a piece of Eden. The Eden Project, was  built the Eden Project in Cornwall in a disused clay mine, opening ten years ago. The project is about regenerating the environment and introducing it to the public. For example, when the Eden Project started, the site was so bad it had been used as the scene of a ruined alien plante in a BBC TV series.

Getting there

Train to St Austell station. From there were two choices of bus. Tip: When buying the train ticket, add a St Austell Bus plus onto the fare. It will cost 2 pounds extra. There are two buses from the station to the Project. Be warned: Bus 101 costs 5.50 pounds and Bus 527 costs 3.60 round trip.

The Project takes 4.00 pounds off your entry if you present a bus or train ticket.

Entry to The Eden Project is 22 pounds which I initially thought was high.

I started in the outdoor garden with a collection of English and European plants and interesting art.

I then went into the Link whch connects the gtwo domes. SAs i arrived, a Eden guide was invitig epopel to join afee tropical foods tour in the first of the two main domes: the  1.6 hectare (3.9 acre) Tropical Biome. The covered biomes are made from a tubular steel (hex-tri-hex) with  hexagonal external cladding panels made from a thermoplastic which is resistant to most dirt and stains, which simply wash off in the rain. The Tropical dome is 55 metres (180 ft) high and has a 30 metre watrefall in it.

The tour was excellent. We stopped at sevreal plaeces around teh dome, learnta bit olants tahtw e get food from , saw what they lok like and then ate sampels of those plants. We started with banana and ended with chiclate. Aftre, the tour, I climbed to the top viewing platform (picture).

After the snacks, I was ready for lunch. The Eden proeect makes food on site and aims to make fresh declisious meals. I had a carrot and coriander soup wuth an Eden garden salad and fresh bread while I listened to a fun band.

The Eden Project was having a harvest festival with bands, displays and demonstrations.

 

The second dome was the  0.7 hectares (1.6 acre) Mediterranean Biome with chillis of various fiery strengths. olives , etc etc. The nicest thing about the dome was a portable massage centre where I had a sublime 15 minute massage!

Next stop was The Core, an education facility and then the  visitor centre, shop, restaurant and plant nursery.  I had thought my visit there and back would be in and out but I spent almost five hours there. The next day a marathon was being held around and at the Eden Project. I would have liked to have joined in.

My ratings of Eden: 93%

Positives:  Aesthetics, Lots to do, well laid out, educational, friendly staff

Negatives: High entry price, can be a little preachy about the environment

Average Hotel Room: $100 -$150 (St Austell)

Would I visit again? Depending on what is on