The Eden Project
A rainforest in a worked-out clay pit, and a villain's lair when James Bond needed one.
I have watched this coast change trade three times — fish, then clay, then people coming to look at both. Eden is the clearest case of it: they dug the pit for china clay, worked it out, and then put a rainforest in the hole. There is something in that worth thinking about.
Overview
James Bond is not often seen in a greenhouse, but when the makers of Die Another Day needed a set for the villain's Icelandic lair, the Eden Project was top of the location list.
It opened in 2001, and this turbocharged take on the Victorian glasshouse has been one of Britain's most popular attractions ever since. Further Edens are planned in the UK, China, Australia and New Zealand.
The biomes
The intersecting domes cover 2.2 hectares and are a real feat of engineering: the clay pit they sit in is unstable, so the bubble shape was designed to cope with ground that shifts.
There are two zones. The Rainforest Biome holds more than a thousand species from Asia, Africa and South America — electric-blue jade vine, coffee and cacao, and the titan arum, the largest flower in the world. The Mediterranean Biome is the drier half.
The giant bee sculpture in the grounds is a reminder that the hexagonal panels were modelled on honeycomb.
Beyond the plants
There are interactive displays on everything from tapping wild rubber to the part cyanobacteria played in making oxygen, and it is set up for families.
Hangloose Adventure operates on the site for anyone who would rather go over the biomes than through them.
A self-catering cottage in St Austell Bay with sea views, a large garden and parking, close to the beach and the coast path. Book direct with the owner.
Book direct with the ownerMevagissey Harbour — a guide to the village, the bay and the people who worked it.