Eden Project – Cornwall

We spent the last week of the summer holidays down in Cornwall. We hadn’t been to Cornwall since before the youngest two were born so were really looking forward to taking them down to explore. One thing that we had been wanting to do since it opened was to visit the Eden Project, so we made sure that we did just that. The Eden Project was a good hours drive from where we were staying in North Cornwall but it was really worth the drive.

What is the Eden Project?

The Eden Project is home to very impressive Biomes containing the largest rainforest in captivity, there is also a Mediterranean Biome, The Core which is home to the new ‘Invisible Worlds’ exhibition, beautiful outdoor gardens and so much more.

Our Day at the Eden Project.

We arrived at the Eden Project for just after opening time, we were shown where to park and then jumped on the bus to take us to the entrance. I had no idea that the Eden Project would need such huge car parks and a park and ride system to get people to the door. I was amazed at how well this work and how we managed to get straight onto a bus when we needed one. I think if I remember correctly our car park was about a mile from the entrance to the Eden Project, so we could have had a nice walk there but we were all very eager to get to our destination on this occasion.

Once inside the visitor centre we got through the ticket system and Bugs was given a Expedition Space Passport which contained lots of activities for him to do and a place for him to collect stamps from all the different Exhibition Space activities that he could do throughout the day. We thought this was a brilliant addition to the Eden Project… making sure there was a lot for the kids to do during their visit.

The kids were in a great rush to get to the Rainforest Biome but not before I had chance to take their photo with the impressive Biomes in the background. Once that was checked off we made our way to their desired destination. We wandered down the Zigzag Through Time and took in the beautiful gardens as we made our way there.

The Rainforest Biome was just as impressive as I always imagined it to be and just as warm too! The temperature is between 18-35°C so we were soon taking off those extra layers and the kids were rather happy when they found the cool room.

There were so many beautiful flowers, plants and trees to see. We had fun spotting the bananas and who knew that pineapples grew on the ground??? Not me that is for sure! The Orchid House was just beautiful with so many beautiful orchids. We loved learning different facts about coffee, cacao and rubber too.

One of the highlights was walking across the canopy rope bridge and obviously the kids had to see just how wobbly they could make it… not great for someone with a weak tummy or a fear of heights 😉 The waterfall was impressive and the spray from it was most welcome… Apparently the waterfall is fed by rainwater that falls on the Biomes.

Every single space was filled with something to see, feel or learn and I came away feeling like I had only just started to discover the joys of the rainforest.

For lunch we ate in the Eden Kitchen which is in the Link which is the building which links both Biomes. It a really lovely light space which serves absolutely delicious food with a great selection for kids, there are plenty of tables and loads of loos so it was the perfect place to eat.

After lunch we headed to the Mediterranean Biome to explore. The Mediterranean Biome is full of amazing plants that grow in the Mediterranean climate. The Mediterranean shares its climate with 4 other regions around the world; South Africa, South West Australia, Central Chile, and California so you can expect to see lots of olives, grapes, peppers, citrus fruits, tomatoes, cactus, aloe and many many more from these places.

One of my favourite parts of the Mediterranean Biome was the perfume garden which is a real feast for the senses with lots of herbs and beautiful scented flowers. We loved the sculptures that were dotted around and the grass trees were truly impressive.

Next we moved on to the Core which is home to the Invisible Worlds exhibition. This was Bugs favourite part of the day! He could have spent all day waiting for smoke rings to appear from the Infinity Blue sculpture and loved looking through the microscopes in the Lab. There was so much to see, do and learn in the Core that we could probably have spent all day in there.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Places We Will Go… (@theplaceswewillgo_) on Sep 17, 2018 at 2:44am PDT

We were so impressed with the Eden Project, the whole place was kept immaculate, the staff were helpful and friendly and the shop sold the most wonderful products… I may have added to my gin collection 😉

We will most certainly visit the Eden Project next time we are down in Cornwall, we didn’t realise that there would be so much to see and we certainly didn’t know about the Hangloose adventure centre! We all want to go back and zipline over the Eden Project next time – it looked like so much fun.

A full price family ticket to the Eden Project will cost £71 but if you buy online in advance you will be able to purchase for £64 so definitely worth doing. Make sure you visit the Eden Project website for more information.

Disclosure: We were given free entry into the Eden Project in return for an honest review.