The Eden Project and Fowey - Cornwall part 3

Cornwall is such an interesting place.
We decided to take a look at the Eden Project - this former clay pit has been totally transformed over the years into gorgeous gardens and 2 huge bio-domes. One with a Rainforest theme and the other with a Mediterranean theme.

(photo above - a panoramic view of the Eden Project bio-domes and the stage area - middle foreground).
It was a big project to undertake. The area converted covers 30 full size football pitches. All the facts can be found on Eden's website.
https://www.edenproject.com/
This is the dream realised of one Tim Smit, or I should say Sir Tim Smit - Eden's co-founder. This is the same Tim Smit who rescued the Lost Gardens of Heligan years earlier.
It's not cheap to visit the Eden Project. If you pay on the day it's 25 GB Pounds per adult but you can save a little if you book on line at least one day in advance. For the 2 of us it was 45 GB Pounds so a saving of 5 GB Pounds. Of course they then charge 6 GB Pounds for the guidebook so there goes the savings.

It wasn't a straight forward visit for us. Firstly we didn't see any signs on the roads leading to the Eden Project until we were virtually at the gates. I was beginning to think that Google Maps was playing games with us again and taking us into the middle of nowhere. Down one narrow country lane into another we drove for what seemed an eternity. Finally we arrived and as we drove into the driveway we saw a building in the distance to the left and a limestone carpark on our right. There were very few cars in the carpark so we thought it was our lucky day. Parked the car and walked along a lane towards what we assumed was Eden reception.
The lady at the reception desk looked at us over the top of her glasses in distain and asked us if we had not seen the signs pointing to the correct entrance to the Eden Project. I felt like saying 'Yes of course we did, but we just like wasting our time and energy walking in the wrong direction!'.
We backtracked to the carpark along with a few other people who also obviously liked to wasted their time and energy too. Back in the carpark we searched for signs of where to go to get in. If there was a sign it must have been minute - we couldn't see it.
After walking past our car again and along the driveway for a further hundred metres or so I saw another member of the Eden staff and asked them how far it was to the actual entrance and how long it would take to walk there. Their reply was to drive there. So again we returned to the car, jumped in and drove to the proper carpark. Or I should say ONE of the many carparks here. The car parking areas are huge and named after fruits. We were parked in Lime car park. There was also Banana, Pineapple, Orange....you get the idea.
Once parked and out of your car the serious walking begins. There are no such things as straight paths or direct routes here in Eden. If there's a round about way of getting from A to B, Eden will take you there, they have aced the art of the meander. They'll take you through every letter of the alphabet before you arrive at B. There is a purpose in this though. It "maximises your Eden experience" by showing you every inch of the 30 full size football pitch grounds and gardens. What we'd come for primarily was to visit the bio-domes. So we headed there as quickly as we could.

 (Photo above - one of the many useful information boards and maps showing you it's impossible to take a direct path to the bio-domes)

(Photo above - Lizzie checking that I am still alive and barely being able to keep up with her on our trek to the dome)

We'd already worked up quite a sweat by now so the Mediterranean dome sounded a little  more welcoming than the heat and humidity of the Rain Forest dome. With a maximum temperature of 25 degrees C, the Mediterranean dome was a pleasure to explore. Over 1000 species of plants, some interesting statues and a café/restaurant. There was a sign at the entrance of the dome stating that it would close at 4pm today due to a private function being held there - a wedding. What a unique place for a wedding!
One thing to be aware of is that the clear plastic that the domes are made of does not cut out UV light so you can still get sunburnt in here.
With this in mind we took shelter under a palm tree and had a coffee and a tea and a 10 minute break.
The highlight for me in this dome was the "Bacchanalian sculptures revelling in the vineyard".

 (Photo above - Lizzie under the palm tree inside the Mediterranean dome)

(Photo above - some of the amazing statues in the vines in the Mediterranean dome)

Next we moved across to the Rain Forest dome. Pausing to look over the balcony at the kitchen staff frantically preparing food for the starving hoards visiting the Eden Project.

(Photo above - Kitchen at one of the cafes in the hall which connects the 2 bio-domes)

The Rain Forest dome has over 1000 species of plant. You really need about and hour and a half to fully appreciate its vastness and the variety of plants here. ,

It's the largest indoor rain forest in the world. Temperatures here get up to 35 degrees C, so for safety sake there is a "cool room" -  a little cabin where you can jump inside and cool down again - before once more emerging into the tropical clamminess that is the rain forest dome.

There's even a waterfall in here.

(Photo above - Lizzie in front of the waterfall - Rain Forest dome - Eden Project)

Just a warning from one who knows....the walkways in here get very wet and can be slippery. Be particularly wary of the one leading up to and down from the top of the waterfall. Those concrete walkways are very hard to fall on......as I found out.

We'd just taken photos from the area in front of the waterfall and rather than take the huge staircase up to the roof of the dome (which would have given some great views from above the canopy of trees, but would have been too taxing on my bad knee), we turned to head back down the walkway. A camera in each hand, one moment I was upright and the next my viewpoint had become almost horizontal as my feet shot out from under me and I bounced on the concrete walkway. A kind gentleman gave me a hand to get back on my feet. My main concern was for my cameras, not myself. Thankfully nothing was damaged but my pride.

(Photo above - inside the Rain Forest dome - top  centre of the photo you can see the stairway and viewing platform up near the roof).

(Photo above - view from one of the lower viewing platforms over the jungle of the Rain Forest dome)

Back outside again - a respite from the heat of the dome - and a chance to explore some of the gardens and statues to be found here.

 (photo above - one part of the vast and well tended gardens)

 (photo above - I wondered how on earth they managed to keep these gardens so tidy when they are so vast. Looks like the gardeners here are pretty big too. One left his spade in the garden.)

(Photo above - lavender and the stage area where open air concerts are performed at certain times of the year)


(Photos below - just a few of the statues and sculptures to be found in the gardens and grounds)

(Photo above - Wee Man - A massive sculpture made of recycled materials)

(Photo above - mission accomplished! All gardens viewed, domes viewed, coffee cup drained, t-shirt bought......now to find our way out again!)

Of course it was only when we were trying to find the car afterwards that we realised that there are actually 3 Lime carparks, numbers 1, 2 and 3. More pointless walking between the 3 Lime carparks before we found our hire car. Not to self - next time, note the carpark colour AND number!
Add to this all the walking getting there, walking around inside the Eden Project and I for one was pretty knackered, my bad knee and hip screaming for me to stop.  I slumped into the welcoming drivers seat. Time to drive to Fowey - pronounced FOY for lunch and a welcome cold beer.

Other than lunch and beer, our main reason for visiting Fowey was to take a look at St Catherine's Castle, on a headland near the harbour.

If it had been earlier in the day I'd have made the trek down to the beach and up the many steps leading to the castle. BUT after all the walking at Eden today I settled for a photo from a nearby walkway instead.

We had a stroll around the village of Fowey and found a nice spot for a late lunch in the upstairs bar of the King of Prussia pub.

Right on the harbour front, our table by the window gave us a winning trifecta. Good beer, tasty food and awesome views.

Lizzie had the Tuna salad and I had the plowman's lunch. Good servings and absolutely delicious. The beer wasn't bad either.

Fowey isn't just another pretty little Cornish fishing village it's a working deep water harbour taking cargo ships and cruise liners. All the same it has a thriving tourist trade.

Photos below show the waterfront, narrow lanes and colourful hanging baskets of flowers.

Cornwall part two - Minack Theatre and St Michaels Mount

Our second full day in Cornwall. The weather forecast was not great. Hello British Summer!
It was overcast with a threat of rain in the air. Not a good omen when we were booked for a 3 hour matinee of Shakespeare's A mid Summer Nights Dream.....done as an opera in an open air theatre on a clifftop.
But first we decided to stop off for a quick visit to St Michaels Mount.
http://www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk/

(photo above - St Michaels Mount from the carpark at Marazion)

St Michael's Mount in Cornish is "Karrek Loos yn Koos", meaning "hoar rock in woodland", also known colloquially by locals as simply the Mount is a small tidal island in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The island is a civil parish and is linked to the town of Marazion by a man-made causeway of granite cobbles, passable between mid-tide and low water - a great feat of engineering at the time. The population of this parish in 2011 was 35. It is managed by the National Trust, and the castle and chapel have been the home of the St Aubyn family since approximately 1650. The earliest buildings, on the summit, date to the 12th century, the harbour is 15th century and the village and summit buildings were rebuilt from 1860 to 1900, to give the island its current form.

(photo above - On the Island - View o small harbour and village with the castle in the background. Lizzie in RED starting to get annoyed with the amount of photos I have been taking!)

We arrived early, just after 9.30am and since the causeway was not due to emerge from the sea until 10.30am at the earliest, we took a small ferry across to St Michaels for a 2 GB Pound fee. Being a Yorkshireman, I hate to pay for a ferry when I can walk over for free, BUT in forking out 2 pounds each we managed to evade the hoards of tourists who were too miserly to pay for a ferry.

(photo above - our ferry boat captain on the way over to St Michaels)
We virtually had the island to ourselves for an hour - left to explore the lanes and alleys and sample the delights of the island café. Tea for Lizzie, coffee for me accompanied by a generous sized slice of Victoria Sponge cake and scones with jam and clotted cream. Delicious!

(Photo above - Lizzie enjoying the cream teas)
The young ladies who staffed the café were very easy on the eyes too, I might add.

(photo above - one of the lovely young ladies who served us in the Island Café)
Barely able to move after our cream teas we wobbled back over to the mainland, via the now exposed causeway, against the tide of the 'zombie hoard'.

(photo above - the causeway emerges from the sea and the first few tourists brave the slippery stones to cross to the island)

Full of scones and cream we drove the rest of the way to the Minack Theatre.
https://www.minack.com/
Rowena Cade lived in Minack House on a Cornish cliff top. It was her vision, her idea to turn her cliff top garden into an amazing outdoor theatre. During the winter of 1931 and into 1932 she and her gardener Billy Rawlings moved granite boulders and earth to create what now forms the lower terraces of the Minack Theatre.
The first ever performance there was on 16th August 1932. Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Always a supporter of the arts, Rowena lived to the ripe old age of 90.
Lizzies favourite Shakespeare play is a midsummer nights dream, so when I saw it advertised at the Minack I bought tickets on line immediately. It was only later that I realised that it was an opera 'based on the play'. I must say my heart sank a little.
However I needn't have worried. It was a great performance and highly enjoyable to watch. The venue high on the cliff top enhanced the experience. Needless to say it earned me a stack of brownie points from Lizzie.

(phot above - the Minack Theatre as it is today)

As it turned out, the poor weather cleared as the performance started and we both ended up more than a little sun burnt.
We bought our lunch from a stall in the Minack carpark - Katies Hotpots offer a choice of Goat Curry, a veggie based dish, or Chicken and Chorizo. Lizzie had the goat curry and I had the chicken. Both were very tasty and tender.
The seating at the Minack is on a first come, first served basis so the national sport of Britain (queuing) started about 90 minutes before the gates opened. We were there early so were within the first 50 or so through the gates and were seated on the third row from the front. The seats in the first few rows are on concrete and there after on grass. After the earlier showers we were glad to have the hard concrete seats. We hired cushioned seats for 1 GB Pound to save us having completely numb bums!

 (photo above - US at the Minack)

(Photos - above 3 photos of the performance at the Minack)
The carpark was completely full and since we were one of the first cars in we were dreading getting out again. The Minack is along one of Cornwall's very narrow country lanes and we envisioned traffic jams for miles and a return to Tregut cottage in the dark.
Amazingly, even though we were down near the front of the theatre and had about a hundred steps to climb back up to the carpark we 'hoofed it' and were one of the first cars out of the carpark. No traffic jams and home again in daylight. Hurrah for us!

Five magical days in Cornwall. - First part....

After a stop in Oxford, en route from Sheffield, we arrived in Cornwall.
Our accommodation for the next five nights, arranged through Airbnb, is in a gatehouse by the name of Tregut Cottage - a 250 year old house made of slate, near Wadebridge. Our hosts, Viv and Ash were fantastic. Very welcoming, friendly and oh so easy to talk to. We actually spent several hours chatting and putting the world to rights, found that we had a lot in common and were made to feel very much at home in this little corner of England.

The house was unique and quirky - in a good way. It's a delightful home and well positioned for day trips to just about anywhere in Cornwall. I loved the slate floors downstairs and our room had lovely views over the garden and fields. The thatched roof summerhouse in the garden made a great place to eat breakfast each morning.

If anyone fancies a trip here, do NOT trust Google maps. You'll end up in the wrong place and on the wrong side of the road. Modern technology such as GPS is not all its cracked up to be sometimes.
There's a little single lane bridge that we became very familiar with whilst trying to locate Tregut Cottage. I think we went back and forth over this little bridge five times, before we gave in and phoned Viv to confirm the right directions.

(phot above - the single land bridge we became very familiar with)

The country lanes in Cornwall are completely mad. Some are just wide enough for two cars to pass one another, others are pretty much single car lanes so if you meet another car coming in the opposite direction you have to find a wide part to allow the other to pass. As you can imagine this becomes more compounded when the other vehicle is a tractor or a bus! My regular comments to Liz when driving in Cornwall went along the lines of "F**k - surely he's not going to try to get that through here!" But somehow, with a little patience and a bit of give and take, it actually works.

It had been a 4 hour drive from Oxford, plus another half hour searching up and down the same stretch of road so by the time we arrived at the cottage I for one had had enough of driving for one day. We did however need supplies (particularly beer and wine) for the next few days so a quick trip into Wadebridge was required. As well as a number of small supermarkets I'm delighted to say that Wadebridge has an Army Surplus outlet called Bunkers. Everything you could possibly need for the next Zombie Apocalypse can be sourced here.  I popped my head in for a quick look and ended up buying some camo t-shirts and a cap. So now when I annoy Lizzie I can pop on one of my camo shirts and she'll never find me!
Our first full day here we stayed fairly local and had a short drive to the rather charming fishing village of Port Isaac. For all you watches of British TV programmes, Doc Martin is filmed here (staring Martin Clunes).

   (2 photos above - the lovely little fishing village of Port Isaac)

There are the usual gift shops, tea rooms selling cream teas and some nice old pubs.
We had a wander around the little harbour area and up the hill to Doc Martins house. A few photos (obviously) were taken.

(Photo above - Malc outside Doc Martin's house - Port Isaac)

We bought a nice little print of a painting showing the little harbour from a gallery on the way down the hill into the village. It'll look great on our bedroom wall when we get home again and will be a reminder of our time here in Cornwall.
We also found a nice little shop selling Cornish Pasties......since we're in Cornwall it'd be rude not to try one.

Next stop was Padstow, another picturesque fishing village, nice harbour, the usual tourist shops and cafes and Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant. We didn't go in, but the menu looked great. Rick Stein is very big here and well represented not only with his Seafood Restaurant but also with a Bistro, café and take away fish and chips. And also a little pastry shop.

(photo above - a panoramic view of Padstow harbour, with the village behind.)

 (Photo above - Stein's Petroc's Bistro - Padstow)

(Photo above - Rick Stein's Patiserie - Padstow)

Part two to follow soon......