Eden Project, Cornwall > Reviews (40)

One thing my partner wanted to visit whilst we were holidaying in Cornwall in the summer was The Eden Project, I will be honest I wasn't particularly keen on visiting if I'm honest as it didn't seem like my cup of tea. However, he wanted to go so we went along yesterday morning before we came home.

The Eden Project is owned by The Eden Trust which is an educational charity and focuses on the natural world. The Eden Project shows some of the natural world and is home to the largest conservatories in the world. It focuses largely on plants and also some architecture. It is situated near St Austell in Cornwall.

We travelled to The Eden Project by car, which was very simple. We used the sat nav but there were many brown signs along the way which made finding the place very easy. When we got there we were directed where to park, there are many car parks but because it was a Monday morning it wasn't too busy which meant we could park closer to the entrance and we were a short walk away (less than 5 minutes), for the disabled there are car parks closer to the entrance. If you are in a car park quite far from the entrance, a park and ride service is available.

If you do not drive, there are other ways to get to The Eden Project, the nearest train station is in St Austell which is 4 miles away, from the train there are various bus services which run to the park (see website for more details). If you are close enough to travel by bus, Eden has its own bus service which runs regular buses from Newquay, St Austell, Helston, Truro and Falmouth which is brilliant for tourists.

So after parking the car we took a leisurely stroll to the entrance. When we got there it was clearly marked where we should go as we hadn't already bought tickets. There were plenty of ticket terminals, however only 3 had staff on them but we went straight through as it wasn't busy.

I had looked on the website the previous evening and had seen that an adult ticket cost £16, however on the way down to the park there were many signs saying if you wanted to have unlimited access for a year it would cost £17.50, as long as you gift aided your donation. The lady who served us asked if I was a tax payer and I replied no, she also never gave us the option to just buy the day ticket, instead charging us the £17.50. Now I'm not too annoyed as we did get annual passes (despite me not being a tax payer) however it is unlikely we will visit again during the year due to us living so far away. She offered us a guide book which we replied no to as it cost a hefty £5, we were not offered a map but we did manage to find one for ourselves after leaving the terminal.

We wanted to head straight for the biomes - the large greenhouses which Eden is famous for. When we got there we were told the biomes were having some final checks and they would be open shortly so we had a little wander about, the biomes ended up opening at about 10am even though the park had already been open half an hour.

The Rainforest Biome - This was the biome that I was most interested in.

It is based around the rainforests of West Africa and South America and there is plenty to see in here. There is no wildlife (unless you count the ants or the occasional outside bird that has come in through one of the vents!) but there are plenty of plants and trees to look at. I didn't think I would enjoy looking at plants as I'm not really a gardening person however I did find it very interesting. There were lots of different plants in here that I never thought I would see such as a banana tree and a cocoa plant. The biome is all about trade and how it is important to buy fair trade, there are various 'scenes' in the biome such as trading ships and camp areas which help to break up the plants. My favourite part of the biome was the large waterfall, this was great to see and a spectacular thing to have inside! We spent around 45 minutes wandering around the biome, we weren't in any rush and took a lot of pictures so we were in there probably a bit longer than most people. It is very very hot in this biome, you will need to take a drink (there are water fountains dotted around but not always when you need one), there are plenty of emergency exits if you need one.

The Mediterranean Biome - I was also keen to go in this biome. We went in this biome after the rainforest one and I was very relieved when we walked through the door to find out that it was much cooler. This biome is based on the Mediterranean, South Africa and California and it shows the plants that grow in a climate where the soil is very dry. There is plenty to see in here such as fruits, flowers, tobacco and vegetables. I found this biome very interesting and we probably spent around 30 minutes in here, this biome is smaller than the Rainforest Biome but is still very interesting.

When we went in the biomes it was relatively quiet, we went in at around 10am on a weekday and I can imagine it would get extremely busy in the middle of the day, especially at weekends. Therefore if you can I would recommend going in the biomes either early on in the day or later because the heat in the Rainforest Biome would prove to be very uncomfortable if you were surrounded with people.

There is now a treetop walk in the Rainforest Biome where you can walk around the biome at a height. This is a guided tour and run at specific times throughout the day, tickets are not available from the biome so you must buy them beforehand. Tickets are usually £5 each but at the moment they are just £3. We didn't go on this because I don't have a brilliant head for heights and personally we felt we had spent enough that morning already.

There is also lots to see outside so it is probably best to visit Eden on a nice day. There are hundreds of plants and there are so many gardens to see. There are a few things dotted about to keep the kids happy such as a slate xylophone and some displays however we did notice there isn't a great deal here for younger families other than in The Core.

The Core is an interactive part of Eden, where there are lots of things for kids to do, such as press buttons on displays, play with fridge magnets and learn how plants keep us alive.

We spent around 10 minutes in here, there was plenty to see but it was getting very busy at this point and we didn't really get a turn on anything. I imagine this is a good place for older children (say 7+) but there is very little for those younger than that.

The Stage is home to seasonal entertainment and they are currently building an ice rink here which will be open at half term.

There are plenty of cafes dotted around and prices are reasonable, there are opportunities to buy produce farmed in Eden but we noticed that the vegetables didn't actually have any prices on which put us off buying any. There is also a plant shop which we didn't look at.

There is a large shop as you leave Eden which sells an awful lot of things in it from stationary to candles, from books to biscuits. Lots of the stuff in here is Cornish produce but the prices were quite high.

We enjoyed our morning at Eden and we are glad we visited. We spent around 2.5 hours here and found we couldn't really have done much else. If we are in the area again then we will go back but only because we have annual passes meaning our entry will be free. I think the entry fee is very high for what it is but then I felt that Eden was a place that everyone should visit at some point and after all, the money does go towards a good cause. We would recommend Eden but there is little here for younger families.

Currently, prices are as follows:
Adult: £17.50
Seniors: £12.50
Students: £10.00
Children: £6.00
You can buy slightly discounted tickets online (for example an adult is £16.50) and there are also discounted tickets available for people who arrive by public transport (for example an adult will cost £13.50).

The Eden Project is currently open 9:30am - 6pm 7 days a week. However, times are often changing, for example they stay open later in the summer so it is worth checking the website before your visit.

If you have any questions or wish to contact Eden their phone number is 01726 811911. Alternatively, you can visit their website http://www.edenproject.com/