The Eden Project

Our first full day in Cornwall saw us visiting The Eden Project near St Austell. This horticultural attraction is most aptly described as a combination of giant plastic dome greenhouses surrounded by agricultural and crop-oriented botanic gardens. Built in the base of a disused quarry, the site was opened to the public in May 2000 and rapidly became Cornwall’s most popular tourist attraction.


The site includes the world’s largest greenhouse which houses a range of tropical plants. Called the Rainforest Biome, it covers 1.5 hectres and rises more than 50-metres at its highest point. Inside you find a fascinating array of mature trees, swamps, waterfalls and other tropical environs. Next door is a smaller glasshouse, known as the Mediterranean Biome. This 35-metre high structure houses plants from the globe’s temperate and arid zones. Both biomes are reached by a winding path that takes you past all manner of crops from around the world including tea bushes and hemp.


Garry and I spent more than three hours touring The Eden Project. We saw many plants we’d never seen before and discovered the origin of several favourite spices. However, much of the novelty was lost on us as we’d already seen many of these plants in the gardens and glasshouses at Kew Gardens. One plant that did catch my eye was the Citron, which is considered the world’s oldest cultivated citrus fruit. It looks like a lemon, except its fruit are the size of watermelons!


Our next stop in Cornwall proved to be a real treat. As we prepared to leave St Austell behind, we made a brief detour to Charlestownon the coast. I’d seen photos of the old stone-walled harbour and had read that traditional tall ships sometimes dock here. Our jaws dropped as we drove up to the waterfront. As luck would have it, there were three splendid tall ships undergoing maintenance. We later heard a local comment that they’d never seen three ships docked at the same time. We stopped to enjoy a late lunch of piping hot Cornish Patties while soaking up this rare scene.