Garden of Eden

Staying in Cornwall, a visit to the Eden Project was almost inevitable. It is well set up for wheelchair accessibility, with almost the whole site having good wide paths (though some are steep in places). There is a Changing Places Toilet outside the visitor centre at the entrance. This doesn’t have a radar key lock and the day we visited the door was often left open which means those who don’t need it will use it, especially as they get to it before the main toilets. Another feature, which we were sadly unaware of until we left, is a lift from the bottom of the basin up to a bridge connecting it to the visitor centre. It’s fairly hidden and we hadn’t noticed it on the map, so we pushed Racheal up the steep incline twice to get to the changing places, during the course of the day. It was a very hot day making it particularly hard work.

A new activity at the Eden Project is the giant marble run. The large wooden balls are available to hire or buy at the entrance. We got two, and set off in search of the first of many marble runs installed around the site. As well as being fun for children (and adults), it added another sensory dimension for Racheal as she could feel and hear the ‘marbles’ as they rolled over the various obstacles. We spent the morning wandering through the outdoor gardens and looking at some of the educational exhibits. I learnt that cherry tomatoes have a higher carbon footprint than standard tomatoes, though I don’t think it applies if you grow your own! Lunch was a picnic, without tomatoes, in a shady nook.

The biomes are obviously the main attraction at Eden. We spent a couple of hours finding lots of things for Racheal to feel and smell as we walked through the recreation of Mediterranean and Rain Forest climates. Water falls and the heat add to the sensory experience too. One of the few places which was not fully accessible was the tree canopy walk in the rainforest biome. The rope bridge was just a little too narrow and there were steps on part of the route, but we were able to get to the canopy, the mist jets and the wobbly bridge.

Ice cream, to cool down, was called for after our expedition to the rain forest. Then we took a different route back to the visitor centre, learning about farming and agriculture along the way, and discovering some more marble runs. The Eden Project was a full day out, and there is still plenty more to explore.