The Eden Project

Early in our relationship Clare and I would spent hours talking about the things we would do and places we would see. We had heard of an environmental project opening in Cornwall that would be a panacea of conservation and environmental research. They were calling it the Eden Project and in 2001 it sounded so revolutionary and exciting to think about the protection of our planet and step towards a new future.

I was desperate to visit but as with many things, life got in the way. Cornwall was such a long way away, we never had long enough annual leave to go, etc etc and so despite my excitement as a young 20 something I never made it.

21 years later and I'm visiting Cornwall for the first time and this was an absolutely essential visit for me.

We rolled it in with another first for me; glamping. They have an on site YHA glamping site. There's a mixture of accommodations but we stayed in an 'Airstream' AKA a movie trailer like the film stars have!

Despite my concerns about the toilets this was a lovely stop over and would definitely do again.

We got up early the next morning and made our way down to the main site. It's built in a reclaimed quarry and so you slowly meander down towards one of the most famous sites in the UK. The panoramic view of the geodesic domes is spectacular.

Inside are two different habitats: the rainforest and the Mediterranean. The rainforest area is bar far the largest and you're swept away into a canopy of trees and life from a different part of the world. They have plants from all over the world and on a cool British day it was lovely to be in more tropical climates for a period. They even had some birds from rainforest regions.

The Mediterranean region smaller but full of fragrant collections of flowers. I was struck by the diversity of life the world has to offer and it reminded me there is so much more to it than my little corner of it. I wonder if the designers also had this in mind when they added this stone with a quote from Nelson Mandela.

"We are human beings only through the humanity of other human beings" there is more to this world than we have experience of and it's through our interactions with each other that makes us the people we are is quite a powerful statement.

We stopped for a lovely lunch in this zone which made me feel like I'd gone abroad. It's so long since I've done that it made me long for it.

Outside are multiple wandering paths that lead you through a pollination zone. I particularly liked the swathes of lavender.

I really enjoyed feeling as though I was a part of nature for a while. I know it's curated and artificial but it's also peaceful and restful. Nature has a power to make you feel very small but also very connected. It reminded me that I am part of this world and also have a duty to it.

It also reminded me that in nature is where I feel at peace. It's somewhere I need to spend more time and so I shall.