UK: England and Cornwall Trip

4. The Eden Project

Eden Project domes

What was an afterthought on the way back from Cornwall, the Eden Project, turned out to be the highlight of the trip.

The Eden Project is a project conceived by Tim Smit and designed by the architects Grimshaw to construct and maintain a large-scale environmental complex on a property located about 8 km (5 mi) from St Austell in Bodelva, Cornwall, UK. Although relatively new, the project has quickly become one of the most popular visitor attractions in the United Kingdom. The complex includes two giant, transparent domes, each emulating a natural biome, that house plant species from around the world. The first emulates a tropical environment, the other a warm temperate, Mediterranean-type environment. The project took 2.5 years to construct and opened to the public in March 2001. The project is ongoing, and part of its purpose is to see how the different biomes develop over time.

From "Eden Project", Wikipedia, 2006

Stone, earth, timber steel and plastic biomes

Workers on the Eden Project domes

The domes were still under construction and there were workers, who looked like insects, walking on top.

Eden Project domes seen through a plastic pipe sculpture

The setting in a Cornish quarry, looked like a set from Dr. Who. The project provided an excellent display on environmental issues, and well worth a visit.

Visitor centre

Close up of the rammed earth wall

Gabion wall: stone filled baskets

The use of traditional materials, such as gabions (stone filled baskets), rammed earth and timber, as well as the hitech steel and plastic biomes, made the buildings a lesson in themselves.

British motorway service centers

BT Multiphone

While the Eden Project was a highlight, the least attractive location must have been one of the many service centers along British motorways. These serve poor food in depressing surroundings. About the only item of interest was an early BT "Multiphone", offering to "Surf the Net".