Eden Project.

Being so close to Eden Project, a well documented eco visitor attraction, we thought it would have been most rude not to visit, it was only about 6 miles from where we were staying too.

Set in an old disused China clay pit it is almost hidden from view until you come out of the visitor centre where you pay  (£23.50 per adult)  then the vastness of it simply takes your breath away.

I did grumble at the £23.50 mind you, tight arse that I am, but you can go back for a whole year on that same ticket, so you can't really complain at that, and I could have saved 15% by booking online in advance.

Those domes your see above are actually massive greenhouses, or Biomes as they are called.  In one side is the Mediterranean area with olive groves and wineries, plus a section on chillies - grown in lines according to their place on the Scoville Scale.  This was a much cooler Biome than the Rainforest one which was very warm and humid.  In fact it was so warm that one of the walkways nearer to the top was closed off due to the heat.   There is a REAL rainforest growing in this dome and it is totally amazing.  Completed with colourful butterflies, amazing flowers and tall palm trees.  Oh, and banana trees too, with bananas on them!

If you would like to see some more photos, you can find them on my Facebook Photography Page.

In-between the Biomes is called the "link", where there are toilets, a shop and a cafe area, the best bit being you can walk around the top of the cafe and watch all the chefs preparing food.

Speaking of food, one of the nicest things I noticed was the lack of "crappy" offerings - ie:  Sausage and chips, burgers..... oh hang on, I had a burger, but it was a gourmet burger - chickpea and beetroot, with sweet potato fries.

You won't believe what I then agreed to do....... fly down a zip wire.  Not just an ordinary zip wire, but the longest zip wire in England!

Right, look hard, can you see the wire?  Probably not.  Look again, can you see a white splodge just leaving the edge of the third dome, just off centre of the photo?

Still no?  Here....

I painted that blob there as you couldn't see the person at all without zooming in massively.

I did that  :)  Yep, I was mad enough to do that.  Shona phoned be to say well done afterwards as she knows what a total wuss I usually am.

I was praying to be over the weight limit,  I wasn't. I then prayed to be not allowed due to blood pressure medication, I wasn't.  I prayed to be let off as I looked a total dweeb in the harness and one of their t-shirts, that was way too tight coz I only had a vest on, I wasn't.

The bloke at the top wired me in and said "In your own time"  I would have much rather he pushed me, he didn't.

So, I went. And I didn't scream.  It was all over too quick and I wanted to go again.

Do you want to see what it was like?  Click HERE to do a virtual flight.  (We were unable to fly 'flat' today though, so we flew sitting.

We were in Eden Project for hours, and although we thought it was expensive at the start, I actually didn't mind paying towards the work they do to highlight environmental issues.  I would be happy to pay and go again.

Have you ever been?