The Wonders Of Eden...

10 Years ago in an old clay mine near the town of St Austell a miracle was happening. Tim Smit of Heligan gardens had just opened up the world of Eden. Two biomes one rainforest and one desert were set to attract visitors of 750 000 visitors a year. In the first year alone they managed 1.8 million......
Before Easter this year my husband, my boys and I will being going back on holiday to Cornwall. With so much on offer in England it amazes me that people choose to go abroad. One of favourite places to visit is the wonderful and amazing world of Eden which I have visited since they first opened to the public and you could view the tonnes of sand and clay being dug out the pit.
Not just a horticulture wonder Eden accomplishes far more than just a pretty garden. With arts & music events, most notable Live 8 where Eden turned to Africa for the day, Eden strives to enhance learning, regeneration and climate change.
We took Jack first to see Eden two years ago when he was 18 months, boy was he struck! From the minute we entered the visitors centre and saw the trains winding down the hills flowing with plants and wildlife to the two strange bubbles below he couldn’t wait to get inside.
Although an educational charity I have never enjoyed a day full of learning so much. Every time we visit there’s something new. Once you’re inside the rainforest dome (the biggest one!) and have de-robed of coats and jumpers in every direction there’s something to amaze! You find flying over your head a banana machine, the distant sound of waterfalls, laughter and amazement coming from the rainforest landing over head and ooohs and ahhs from the children and adults.  There are some amazing play areas and exciting trails with hideaways, sandpits and shortcuts.
I would say you need a good three or four hours to tour around but with little’s one you don’t have to miss out as the whole place is buggy friendly!  But I advise if you have young children to get the land train down the hill and to wear layers as the different biomes temperature fluctuates quite dramatically. They also advise to wear sun cream as obviously despite the huge football pitch sized hexagons forming the roof the sun can still get in and you can still get burnt.
So while they proudly celebrate their 10th birthday I cannot wait to see what the next ten years of Eden brings! It’s been lovely to watch it grow and evolve from the day it looked like a moon landing site to the quite frankly stunning centre it is today.  So if in the last decade you haven’t been, if you can only spare a weekend visit, do go and visit this amazing and family friendly place!
For more information visit www.edenproject.com




Comments

Popular Posts