The Eden Project

[Yamadori]

Hi all, I will be in Cornwall the week after next, and was wondering whether anyone has been to the Eden Project recently? The only person I know who has been wasn't impressed, but I think she was expecting it to be like Kew Gardens. I'm keen on conservation and unusual tropical (and other) plant & tree species, but it does cost rather a lot to get in. I will either be with DH or go without him, depending on whether I think he'll get bored.

You will find the A30 vastly different. It’s a big road and fast. Once you leave the M5 at Exeter you will travel much faster on the A30.

Well now I'm torn about which one to go to. We'll be in St Ives for three days and that's it. So I will really only have time for a trip to one or the other, not both.

Thanks for the info @QueenOfTheHighCs but we probably wouldn't need that. We're members of English Heritage and I'm in the RHS as well, so make good use of those already.

I'm also much impressed by the news that the A30 is delightful these days.😂

If it's a choice I would go to Heligan. It's a beautiful space to wander around and experience. It still feels like a work in progress.

The big biomes at Eden are quite special but in terms of learning about the environment, tropical and temperate zones etc there's nothing you can't get from looking at the website. It's a lot of money to spend just to stand in a big greenhouse.

I was desperately disappointed by it 20 years ago and I really really wanted to love it

I live in Cornwall and, as others have said, it’s extremely expensive now for Eden. The ticket does last all year/is much cheaper for us locals so when I can go several times I think it’s worth it, but for non-locals it’s £38 pre bought /£42 on the door otherwise, and if you only get to go once it is extortionate!
It is nice there. But I wouldn’t say for a one day visit it’s worth more than about £25 at most. It’s a shame they make it so pricey. The yearly valid tickets are lovely for locals or regular visitors but otherwise it’s crazy prices. But then again, if you have a rainy day it’s a good, mostly indoor activity.

Heligan is nice for a nice day (all outdoors). Lots of lovely national trust places too if you have a membership, or buy the temporary membership (I think called explorers pass). Lanhydrock, Trerice, Trellisick, Glendurgan all beautiful. You also get free entry to St Michael’s Mount with NT membership which is worth a visit. I’d say getting the explorers pass and visiting several NT places is far more worth it.

Oh, and I’ll add in, yes the A30 is generally fine now. It’s very recently had a lot of work done. Can still be a nightmare if there is a crash (though that’s the same anywhere). But generally even at rush hour it’s not bad now.

We love it. We live in Cornwall (but right at the bottom so it’s a bit of a trek) and go at least twice a year. There’s lots for kids to do and lots of space. And if you get universal credit they do cheap tickets (book in advance). We have 2 kids one a teen. One a baby and they both have a good day there.

It’s ok. I’m lucky as because I live in Cornwall and they have a scheme were public services can go for free one day a year. Wouldn’t pay dull
whack though. It was seen as modern 25 years ago and it’s not kept up with it so now feels dated.

much prefer Heligan

Thank you all so much for your input, it has been really useful. I'm going to the Eden Project instead of Heligan, and will report back with my findings.

On the way down the A30 we are passing Lanhydrock, so we will be visiting there too.

Back from holiday with reports... we didn't bother with Lanhydrock after all, and got into Cornwall early the day we arrived so went to the Eden Project. I really liked it. I'm well into eco-nonsense anyway, so I ignored all the preachy stuff (thanks to the pp who mentioned it) and just gawped at the plants. That huge tropical biome is something else, and I enjoyed going round playing the 'that looks vaguely similar to something else that I do know the name of so it is probably related to it in some way' game. DH was with me and was far less bored than I thought he would be. He was fascinated by the vanilla orchid complete with pods. We were there in the afternoon so the walkway at the top of the biome was closed do to the warm weather, but I'm not great with heights so didn't miss it. Came away with a seedling papaya plant.

We also went to Trewidden Gardens, which is on the A30 down past Penzance on the way to Land's End. If you want to see some gigantic tree ferns I strongly urge you to go there. They have the most fantastic collection in a large tree fern dell. It was like walking into the land that time forgot. They also have superb camellias and rhododendrons, many of which are rare wild species collected around 100 years ago, and which they propagate to ensure an ongoing population.

The holiday park we stayed in was on the edge of some woodland and they had some very tall and unusual trees in there. Definitely not species native to the UK, so at some stage it must have been an arboretum. It was giving me serious Lost Garden vibes, and a local working in the shop on the holiday park said that the wood borders land belonging to an old country house estate.

I want to like it but it costs a fortune and then they sell plastic tat. I don’t know if they’ve stopped doing water in plastic bottles but I found it hard to square away the environmental message with the “exit through the gift shop” mentality.

Heligan is wonderful, and my children had a blast there when they were younger. More affordable too. If only Eden would drop the price a bit they’d probably bring in more profit and could maintain the site a bit better.

@Zippp The only plastic tat we saw in the Eden gift shop was made of the recycled sort. I was rather taken with some table mats made from plastic recovered from the ocean/beaches for instance, but I didn't buy them. Agree about the price though.

Really appreciate the update and glad you enjoyed it.

It’s beautiful, feels like you’re abroad.

Thank you for the update, it's very good to know you enjoyed your visit and interesting to read the comments. I'm off to Cornwall later in the summer so it's nice to ponder where to visit.

I'm glad you enjoyed it OP, having people talking it down a bit perhaps helped you manage expectations better.

Porthcurno. Nothing to do with wildlife, plants or anything like that, but everything to do with global communications over the last 100+ years. It played a pivotal role in both world wars too. The museum there is fantastic, and the coffee & cake beach equally so. You can also walk from the beach over the headland to the Minack theatre.

Thanks for the tip! Sounds perfect

Porthcurnow is a common / favourite for school trips. And there’s a reason for that because the Marconi museum is a great little museum. Combined with a trip to the Minack it’s one of the few school trips I properly remember. And is always a fantastic day out