The Eden Project, conservation and regeneration (Eden Project (Cornwall))

Member Name: wxcat

Product:	Eden Project (Cornwall)
Date:	31/08/09 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amazing biomes, Recycling,

Disadvantages: Entry Price

The UK's eco gem as they would have you think. An example of conservation, of making something out of what was desolate and would have been left, and making it into an example for the future. The Eden Project is a charity, was funded by the lottery and Millenium Collection.

Eden is easily accessible, by a connecting bus service from St Austell train station or by car signposted from the A30. They have lots of car parking available in several car parks, with interconnecting buses from the outer car parks. If you come by bike you can save £4 off the adult fare. That brings you to the admission prices, £16 for adults, £11 for seniors, £5 for children, £8 for students and £38 for families. Remember to gift aid you're payment as they do get an extra 28p in the £1 for what you spend, and you get a year's free entry for paying one days.

Inside the major attractions are the two amazing biomes, which are amazing structures, built of hexagon bubbles of ETFE plastic built on an uneven surface. The largest ones is a rainforest biome, you enter the biomes through part of the visitor centre, containing the restaurant and facilities. The rainforest biome is not for the faint hearted as it very hot and humid, but absolutely amazing with plants from out in the rainforest towering over your heads. Waterfalls and pools are scattered through the biome, and it gets hotter as you climb to the top of the biome, but it is worth the climb. The water fountains are few and far between as you go through the biome. Even trying to take photos of the scenery the camera lens was getting fogged up! As you get back down to ground level in the biome it almost feels cold and you realise how hot it is in there.

The second biome, a bit smaller, is a Mediterranean climate, warm but very dry air, and reflects alot of the climate across Europe and the different plant species you find nearer the equator. This biome we found a little boring after the rainforest! But it did have some good exhibits inside about water usage and recycling which were interesting. We got intercepted by coach parties starting to come in by the time we had got into this biome which started to spoil it!

Afterward the different climates we decided to grab some lunch, prices were high as we expected, and I was disappointed by the selection of food and drink on offer for the type of attraction, expecting everything to be at least recycled or local or so forth. What was amazing while eating in the restaurant which is partly indoor and also outdoor under a canopy, was the birds and how amazingly tame they are, they were eating the crumbs off the table we were sitting at and sitting on the backs of the chairs around us. These were robins and tits as well, not the usual vermin birds!

The Core, the other main building on site contains lots of educational games and exhibits and I expect it will get used alot more when school tours are in. Also around the site there are examples of recycling everywhere, including car parts and plastic recycling. There are also lots of fruit/vegetables growing, and they were working and harvesting it while we were there. There was also a huge music stage there while we were there as they planning a music concert that evening, I'm not sure if it was a permanent structure.


The shop at the start/end of the entrance is an impressive shop for any tourist attraction, they also have a small nursery with some of the plants growing around the project. The shop sells all the usual things you would expect as well as lots of produce that is from the fruit/vegetables grown on site, and lots of organic produce.

Overall a wonderful attraction, well enjoyed, perhaps looking a little dated after it now being several years old now. Expensive to get in, and I'm not sure it's really worth that much!

Summary: Amazing project, well worth a visit, try and find cheaper tickets online before you go!