I am a big fan of the Eden Project. It's the heart of Cornwall, and somewhere that I have been on school trips, with friends, and with family. I hadn't been in years, but my brother and his girlfriend had been a few months ago and rekindled my excitement for it, so we decided to take a little family trip and have a day out.
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| Walkway to the entrance |
If you haven't heard of the Eden Project, it's home to the world's largest indoor rainforest, and is basically a huge, amazing garden centre, with plants from across 5 different continents, as well as events, exhibits, and more. Even though it's so much better in the summer, there's still so many wonderful things and inside exhibits to explore during the winter.
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| An image of the Biome before the completed construction - they built this bad boy in a flood! |
"The Eden Project, an educational charity, connects us with each other and the living world, exploring how we can work towards a better future.
Our visitor destination in Cornwall, UK, is nestled in a huge crater. Here, massive Biomes housing the largest rainforest in captivity, stunning plants, exhibitions and stories serve as a backdrop to our striking contemporary gardens, summer concerts and exciting year-round family events. Registered charity number 1093070 (The Eden Trust)." - www.edenproject.com
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| Driftwood horses - the original driftwood horse is now too fragile |
It's all about sustainability and learning more about the world around us. There's all sorts of interactive bits for kids, as well as all the information you could possibly want for us plant lovers and those wanting to learn more about sustainable living.
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| The Core building (featuring my mum and brother) |
We parked up in Lime 2 (the car park is in sections named after fruit), wrapped up warm, and hurried down from the top of the hill to grab our tickets. We had a short walk to the Core building, which is where the different exhibitions are held, and I was really quite excited for the Bee exhibition they have on at the moment. There's loads of artwork, as well as a science lab where you can look at bees under a microscope.
There's also an exhibition of bacteria and micro-organisms. There's a huge model of the first bacteria to produce oxygen through oxygenic photosynethis - it blows out smoke rings and has a riveted texture. There's also loads of smaller artworks and information about the science behind them, such as this amazing piece of art depicting the body as a map, with trillions of microbes represented as hand-embroidered french knots.
Something that has been a part of the Core building since the beginning is The Seed - a huge, 70 tonne monument by Peter Randall-Page, made by reducing a 167 tonne block of granite into the seed shape, and then carving 1800 individual nodes in Fibonacci spirals, reflecting the amazing pattern found all around us, in sunflowers, pine cones, and daisies.
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| The Seed by Peter Randall-Page |
After having a little wander around the Core building, we made our way through the gardens to the Biomes. As you enter, there's stairs down to a huge open restaurant, and a walkway with the Mediterranean Biome on the right, and the Rainforest Biome on the left. We headed towards the Med Biome first, as it's the smaller of the two, and were immediately greeted with the smell of herbs, plants, and flowers. Just like the rest of Eden, there's information galore - every plant is labelled and there's informative signs all over the place to educate you on the history and culture surrounding the plants. There's also wildlife including small birds and frogs!
After lunch we made our way back upstairs and had a quick nosy around the little gift shop, before heading into the biggest indoor rainforest in the world. This is such a wonderful experience as there's huge waterfalls, birds, and so many plants and trees amidst the rainforest heat.
Since it's the middle of winter, there's not a huge amount of plants in the outdoor gardens, and a lot of the plots are being replanted with new plants. It was getting pretty chilly outside anyway, so we had the choice to go around the biomes again, or head home. There's a huge gift shop at the end, and I do mean huge, with loads of Eden's own skincare, clothing, food, toys, etc, as well as loads of different things surrounding Cornwall and sustainability, from Cornish artwork and Cornish skincare, to books and plants. We spent a nice while leisurely looking at the things they had to offer, and we came home with a few lovely mementos.
Mum absolutely spoilt me, and treated me to a Chilly's water bottle (I've wanted one for ages), an adorable fluffy bee whom I have named Bumblebutt, a gift box of Bomb Cosmetics bath bombs, an Eden Project orange lip balm, a panda candle, and a cute little bee enamel pin.
I also picked up a little Eden chocolate bar, an orange and cinnamon candle, and a mini beeswax candle.
I can't wait to revisit the Eden Project soon, and I get free entry with my season pass which is available to anybody that lives locally! (Cornwall/Devon)
Have you ever been to the Eden Project? Let me know in the comments!
Ciao for now,
Katie x
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