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