Gardens of Eden (Eden Project (Cornwall))

Member Name: helencb

Product:	Eden Project (Cornwall)
Date:	14/11/06 (847 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very educational, and brings key issues and beauty about nature to a wider audience

Disadvantages: Very expensive entry fees, the sheer success challenges some issues of sustainability

The Eden Project opened in Cornwall in early 2001 and has established itself as a very popular tourist attraction, with over 1.2 million admissions per year, well in excess of initial expectations. The Eden Trust, the charitable organisation that runs the Eden Project aims to show how much man depends on plants and the natural world, and therefore how important it is that we treat animals and plants with respect and only use resources in a sustainable way.

The Chief Executive of Eden Project was also responsible for restoring the lost gardens of Heligan in the early 1990s and he wanted to do more to connect plants and people. The site of the Eden project was an old disused clay pit which was an eyesore in a depressed area of the country. It took 3.5 years from the first cut of land to visitors being able to wander through the now magnificent gardens and biomes.

The fact that Eden is in Cornwall at all is down to the dreams of a few men and a belief in people and in people doing the right thing. The actual domed biomes that house the largest rainforest in captivity are an incredible size, with the largest one being big enough to house the Tower of London. The idea of the shape was inspired by nature, as are many sculptures and areas around Eden. In fact the biomes reminded me of a large larvae style insect but could easily be compared with an insect's eye or a honeycomb or even a close up of flowers. Even more amazingly every single 'window' was made specifically to fit in its particular place only.

Two massive construction companies - Sir Robert and Alfred Macalpine - were integral to turning this site around and they worked without payment for 18 months, and even offered a loan to the Trust, which was only to be repaid if it was successful, again a leap of faith and a belief for them.

Obviously being Waste Neutral is an important belief, and a difficult one to achieve in a tourist attraction of this size. Visitors are encouraged to take special care of their waste and use the appropriate bins which are all over the park. During construction, the weather was a challenge with 100 days of rain and the rainwater on site is collected and used where needed including flushing visitor toilets.

Getting There
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Eden is situated between the A390 and A391 close to the St Austell area of Cornwall, and is easily accessible by car, where there are clear road markings. However, walkers and cyclists get a discount of £3 on admission and they also get to join a priority queue for admission, so it is worth considering these options, and there are routes shown for all modes of transport on the Eden website. We were not very green and arrived by car, and while it isn't possible to see Eden until you are really close, the size of the car-parks and the access road is far greater than I would have expected - this place obviously gets a lot of visitors in the summertime. There is a free bus that runs up and down between the car parks all day, certainly worth it for the way up, but there are paths for walkers up and down too.

Entry and Fees
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Entry into the Eden Project is certainly not cheap. It is currently £13.80 per adult, with discounts for children, students and seniors and a family ticket comes in at £34. Eden also offers unlimited return visits for a year, if you "GiftAid" your entry fee. This is open to any taxpayer and means that the Trust will be able to claim back tax on the entrance fee. Even if it is unlikely you can re-enter then the trust still benefits at no extra cost. Thankfully my sister lives in Cornwall and has visited several times, as there are different events at night during the different seasons, so our day out with her and my niece was relatively cheap.

Our visit was very much out of season, and we had no queuing at all, but the queues can get considerable in the busier months. Obviously there were few flowers in bloom at this time of year, but it was still nice to be able to pay a visit to this much publicised transaction and enjoy the surroundings without huge crowds everywhere, and I am not sure I could face a visit in the height of the tourist season (in fact going to Cornwall in the height of the tourist season has never appealed to me so I always do my visiting outside of school holidays).

The Attractions
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Today Eden has several distinct areas and a visit will take several hours. There are the two large indoor biomes, the Humid Tropics Biome, and the Warm Temperate Biome, and these are extremely deceptive in size, and therefore the time it takes to view them. There is also the fabulous outdoor area, known as the outdoor biome. The Core is a newer building, which is used for educational purposes and then there is the stage and arena which are used for special events, such as concerts (think Live 8) and there is also an ice-skating ring at extra cost.

We began our journey by wandering through the Humid Tropics Biome. This is the largest, and also by far the hottest, so I think it is wise to start there. You can leave your coat hung up before you go in, and this is probably wise, as within a few minutes you will want to strip as much as possible! There is a visitor trail through the 'rainforest' and the theme in here is about the tropical regions and rainforests such as the tropical islands, Malaysia, West Africa and Tropical South America.

I was very surprised at how high the walk is - there is a waterfall running down through the biome, and the biome is in fact 50 metres high - but I guess I didn't expect there could be an uphill in a greenhouse! The main themes and messages throughout the biome are those of protecting endangered crops, sustainability in general and how the trust and other organisations work with organisations in the tropical regions particularly in times of natural or other disaster.

A large part of this biome is taken over by tropical plants that affect our everyday lives touching everything from coffee and sugar to rubber, palms, bamboo, spices and tropical dyes. There are a few interactive displays and quizzes to keep children amused. It will probably take about 45 minutes to walk through the attraction, and it can get quite uncomfortable - and I expect it would be even worse in the summer months.

I much preferred the Warm Temperate Biome, probably because the temperature in there was much easier to handle, and therefore it was possible to walk around more leisurely. As the name suggests, this biome concentrates on temperate regions such as the Mediterranean, South Africa and California. In fact when you walk in, the Mediterranean area of the biome made me wish I was wandering through a warm quaint village somewhere. I also think that the pressures on the land in these areas feels closer to our Western experiences, particularly California, where I holidayed so recently.

I absolutely loved the Core, which is the educational area. This area has plenty of hands on exhibits, and these are appealing to both young and old. There are also some fascinating art displays, and an 18 minute video introduction to the team behind the scenes at Eden was very informative and interesting.

We did wander through the gardens and the Outdoor Biome at some length. Obviously at this time of the year, I did not get the benefit of seeing all the flowers and gardens in full bloom, as they had been on the educational video. My sister told me that in the summer the basin is absolutely glowing with colour, and is extremely impressive. She took me to her favourite spot, a beautiful large canopy constructed from growing willow trees, and which is often lit up at night. I felt that the overall attention to detail in the gardens was excellent, with even a hemp fence along the path back up to the visitor centre showing a demonstration about hemp, and how it could be used.

There are plenty of eateries about the place, including in the link building between the two biomes. The visitors shop is absolutely huge, and we must have spent about an hour in here, browsing through its impressive book collection, as well as other gifts. Overall food was competitively priced, and there are plenty of picnic areas, encouraging visitors to bring their own food if they wished.

So what did I think overall? I am glad I got the opportunity to go, and this was not a planned trip but very much a spur of the moment visit. I enjoyed the day very much, and have the utmost respect for the faith and belief of the trustees. I do believe the attraction is overpriced however and I would imagine that the price will put many people off, particularly those with families. I think that the trustees have a difficult job to do, in bringing together people and plants on this stage. On the one hand they acknowledge they have to inspire not just those visitors who are truly environmentally aware, but appeal to a wider audience and encourage everyone to think a little more about the planet. On that note, my sister and I both felt that the trip is inspirational, and it does make you think. On the negative side, I think the large numbers of visitors actually make the place a little bit too much of a theme park, (particularly some of the shop items) and therefore not as "sustainable" as they aspire to be which is again a difficult balancing act for nature and for the trustees.

www.edenproject.com for visitor information. The attraction is open practically all year around.

Summary: Certainly worth the entry fee for residents and people who can return within the year.