Cornwall (3)

For our last full day in Cornwall we decided to dedicate some time to visiting The Eden Project, just west near St Austell. It again turned out to be a sunny day which was good as we expected to be spending some time out doors visiting the project. Getting there was relatively easy and since it was both late in the season and early in the day we had no trouble with queueing to get in. The project is set up in a disused china-clay pit (china-clay is still mined near St Austell), and the view from the reception building shows a surreal landscape.
As well as the main environments set up to the left of the picture above, there is an education facility in what is know as The Core. We went into the 'tropical' biome but it was so hot and stifling inside that we didn't go too far or stay too long. Nevertheless, it is very interesting to see what can be done in a cool temperate climate when you provide the protective infrastructure. The other biome houses species from warm temperate areas including Australia, South Africa, and North and South America. Outside are many gardens planted in a wide variety of local and exotic vegetation. Because of its placement in the bottom of what is, essentially, a large quarry the project area enjoys a fairly warm micro-climate anyway. Even the insects thrive - see the giant Bee above!

We had taken the free tractor-train ride down from the reception centre into the quarry and took the elevator from the low level up through the education centre to 'The Iron Bridge' leading back to the reception centre.The picture above is a view inside the warm-temperate biome where bacchanalian scenes are played out by these bronze sculptures. Who knows what goes on in here when its dark.

Two related aspects of the project disappointed me. A section of one of the domes has been converted to an ice rink. Also, at the top of the elevator is a fairground ride sort of thing comprising old London Taxicab mockups in which you can be serenaded by Elvis Presley. These two things together made me feel that the place was departing from its serious and worthy intentions and turning into a theme park.

After a good tour through the facility, we left St Austell to head north and then eastwards again. We lunched at the small town of Bodmin at a fairly new restaurant with a mildly Spanish theme. Pat had her third mushroom soup which was quite different from any of the previous ones and nowhere near as good. We headed across Bodmin Moor but still no sign of the beast and, passing through Launceston (not Tasmania), we headed back to our cottage for our last night in Cornwall.