You’ll have a bloomin’ good time
AS I WAITED in a ticket queue of about 200 people at the entrance to Cornwall’s
Eden Project, a tune began to rattle through my mind.
It was an old Bob Dylan song that feat ured the line,
“There are no trials inside the gates of Eden”. I hoped so, as it was certainly
shaping up to be a trial outside.
Unsurprisingly so, as within two years of opening in 2001, Eden had become the UK’s
third-most- opular paid-for visitor attraction. Many of the 1.4 million people who
visited in 2003 seemed to be back when I was there – and ahead of me in the queue
– but thankfully within 15 minutes I had paid £12 and bought my way into this paradise.
Attracting this number of visitors to such a quiet corner of Cornwall is quite an
achievement when you consider the Eden Project is near Britain’s most south westerly
tip, with a road network more suited to cattle herding.
When you emerge from the reception area to see the two huge hothouses, you can’t
fail to be impressed. This part of Cornwall, near St Austell, is scarred by more
than 200 years of china clay mining.
Eden has been created in the huge crater left by a such a pit, meaning you can’t
see the hothouses (called biomes) until you stand on this spot.
The Humid Tropics Biome is almost 150 feet high – big enough to house the Tower
of London – while the Warm Temperate Biome is 100 feet tall. Eden describes itself
as “a global garden for the 21st century”, and “a gateway to a sustainable future”,
and is an education for all ages.
I stood in front of wooden puppets Alan and Enid at the Plant Takeaway, which illustrat ed how we depend on plants in
our everyday lives.
I then moved on to read some humbling messages. I learned that 18,000 children starve
every day, yet there is enough food for everyone on the planet, plus another three
billion.
But the finger-waving messages were brief because from here on in the plants did
all the talking.
The tropical biome was by far the more crowded, but at a temperature of about 28°C,
proved uncomfortable for some.
I strolled along boardwalks through mangrove, palm, rubber, bamboo, mango, papaya
and avocado trees, as well as reconstructions of African and Malaysian forest huts.
I discovered how cola comes from the caffeine in seeds and that chewing gum and
chocolate come from the rainforest.
I also learnt that the UK imports enough bananas for everyone to eat 100 a year.
The temperate biome was less spectacular, but just as impressive – and at a far
more pleasant temperature when you are dressed for a wet Cornish day.
Here I learned how the Mediterranean climate produces so much that is vital to me
– especially wine for my throat and cotton for my back, although I gave up tobacco
long ago. I went away thoughtful, glad after so much walking to take the road-train
up to the reception and shop.
On the way out I passed Eden’s 4,000- apacity outdoor arena, where shows as diverse
as Songs of Praise and pop concerts by Badly Drawn Boy are staged.
Maybe Bob Dylan will sing here one day. And if he does, I will be the first to book
my ticket.
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