Well dear friends it’s the end of March in the South West of England and the rain has finally stopped…well nearly. So in our usual spirit of Carpe Diem Mrs. C and I decided to take an annual membership to The Eden Project, a wonderful attraction located just outside of St. Austell in Cornwall.
So we fired up Bridget, dialled Eden Project into the Sat-Nav and headed over the Tamar Bridge, destination St. Austell, to visit “The Dark Side”. Traffic across the Tamar bridge was flowing well, mainly due to the fact that they only make you stop and pay on the way out of Cornwall (don’t get me started) and the journey to Eden Project took a little over an hour.
Before we start let me provide you with a little context. This blog was compiled by way of two visits during the same week, to celebrate Aunty Sarah’s birthday and to take my brother and his wife Jackie, who is a mega keen gardener, for a day trip.
For the benefit of the photographers amongst you, all imagery was captured with the Leica SL2 using four different lenses:
Leica 50mm Summicron SL.
Leica 24-90 Vario Elmarit.
Sigma 45 mm DGDN Contemporary L mount.
Sigma 24 mm DGDN Contemporary L mount.
With the exception of a couple of M mount Voigtlander lenses, I normally only put Leica glass in front of my Leica bodies. However, I wanted a couple of lighter and less expensive auto-focus primes for my SL2 & SL2S as an alternative to my existing Leica SL zoom lenses, to be used when travelling in what might be termed as “sketchier” locations. I have found both the build and image rendering of the two sigma lenses listed above to be superb and thought that this visit to the Eden Project would provide interesting subject matter for some real-world testing. I am not interested in pixel peeping and MTF charts, I just want to see real-life results. Moreover these all-metal lenses came in a glorious silver and as we all know silver lenses look cool and match the colour of my beard…….so that’s all good then!
All quiet mid-week in winter.
Driftwood horse sculpture by Heather Jansch guards the entrance.
The benefit of being “a genetleman of a certain age” is that I can avoid weekends, so with the exception of the odd school trip most places are normally much quieter in the week.
Regular readers already know that we like to arrive at our destinations for 10.00 a.m. to coincide with our morning coffee. I must say that the café at Eden Project did not disappoint on taste, quality or price and we were also happy to avail ourselves of the 10% members discount, remembering the old adage “look after the pennies and you can buy more Leica glass”….or something like that!
They had an old coffee machine with the inscription “Please don’t handle me, I am old and delicate”. We clearly had a great deal in common.
Ah yes, just like me, it needs to be handled with care!
To give you a little background info, the Eden Project was conceived back in 2001 by Sir Tim Smit, to provide “a living theatre” of plants, mostly housed in massive futuristic geodesic domes, in order to recreate local climatic environments whilst showcasing sustainability and man’s reliance on plants in everyday life.
Moreover, that week was the 25th anniversary of the centre and over coffee we spotted Sir Tim speaking with a BBC film crew. So I walked over, shook his hand and politely asked him for a portrait for this blog. I have to say he was absolutely delightful and very happy to accede to my request. What a gentleman!
Sir Tim Smit
The project actually took two and a half years to construct. It was created in a disused china clay pit and involved building the world’s largest greenhouses to house the “Rainforest” and the “Mediterranean” plants.
Following on with its sustainability objectives the domes are heated using geothermal energy from 4.7 km below the earth’s surface.
Then and Now
The Original China Clay pit.
The first glimpse of the domes is quite breathtaking and brings home the scale of the project. It makes you think what life on one of the lunar planets might eventually look like or of greater concern, what we might need to do to grow our food if climate change continues at its current speed.
First glance of the biodomes.
The closer we get the more impressive the structures become.
As we enter the first dome, which holds the rainforest, we are reminded of the importance of the world’s rainforests to everyday life.
As global deforestation proceeds at pace we would do well to remember their importance to everyday life.
Wow - now that’s what I call a rainforest!
As you would expect the rainforest provides a mixture of flora and fauna but without out the stingy bitey things that normally live in such a habitat. Here is a selection:
A Banana flower.
Anyone for a banana?
A pineapple - from a different perspective.
Simple beauty.
As we walked through the dome the humidity was quite opressive so it is well worth wearing some lightweight clothing. It also took some time for my camera lenses to acclimatise and it actually pays to avoid changing lenses inside the biodome.
In the distance our final destination, “The Crows Nest”.
Regular readers know that Mrs. C is not good with heights, especially rickety structures involving heights. However, she is always up for a life challenge and was very brave to cross the rope bridge whilst it was moving up and down and from side to side. As I captured the following image I was only grateful that pictures do not have any sounds as Mrs. C was muttering something about a “Clucking Bell”?!!
Well done Mrs. C! - what is a “Clucking Bell”?
The birthday girl - Aunty Sarah with Mike capturing the dorsal view.
My little brother - he is a good looking boy and willing model.
We wanted to climb up to the crows nest but it was closed. We subsequently found out that it is only open three times a day for periods of 45 minutes per session. So we all agreed to come back later….hold that thought.
We then moved over to the second dome which housed the mediterranean environment. As you would expect the climate was less oppressive and we enjoyed the relaxing walk.
From a photographic standpoint the centre-piece of the mediterranean dome is a collection of statues by Tim Shaw depicting the Ancient Greek myth of Dionysus, the god of wine and representing wild, untamed nature. The statues are integrated into a vineyard celebrating different grape varieties.
After a rather delightful lunch (of course, still availing ourselves of the 10% members discount…spot the developing theme!) we then headed back to the rainforest and made the climb up to the Crows Nest to get an experience of what life is like in the canopy of the rainforest.
Upon arrival you have to certify that you don’t suffer numerous health issues and that you are good with heights. The climb to the top is '“interesting” and not for the feint of heart. Temperature at the top can rise to 47 degrees centigrade, which is the cut-off point before access is closed. So if you suffer from vertigo, don’t like see through platforms suspended a hundred feet in the air and you are uncomfortable with high temperatures and oppressive humidity, then this is not for you. I am not selling it am I.
Mrs. C was completely unanimous that this was one life challenge that she was going to let pass her by!
Are we really going up there? - Mrs. C certainly wasn’t and was unanimous about that!
Well here goes….
We finally made it - Mike looking cool and relaxed despite the temperature and humidity.
Mrs.C from the Crows Nest.
Mrs.C zoomed-in.
Don’t look down……and then I did!
Back outside and enjoying the garden.
As we walked through the garden all was peace and tranquility until we heard screaming. As we looked up we saw two people hurtling 100 feet in the air on a zip wire. Aunty Jackies eyes lit up and then me, Mrs. C and uncle Phil all looked at each other and said NO!!!
There are always two nutters!
If you are an adrenalin junkie and want to travel 660 metres, 100 feet off the ground at speeds approaching 60 mph and don’t mind spending £35 for two minutes of terror then this is definitely for you.
The Invisible Worlds Exhibition Centre.
A contender for the Bench of Contemplation.
Inside the Invisible World Exhibition.
Infinity Blue - A ceramic structure honouring oxygen producing cyanobacteria blowing out scented vapour smoke rings.
The Seed - A 70 tonne 13 ft-high granite structure created by Peter Randall-Page inspired by the Fibonacci spiral patterns found in nature and symbolises ecological growth.
The dome complex captured at 24 mm.
Aunty Jackie is an avid gardener and so we then spent the rest of the day walking through the beautiful gardens and simply enjoying nature at its best.
Aunty Jackie - our resident horticulturist.
The Scarecrow.
Ah yes, no visit would be complete without a visit to “The Bench of Contemplation” courtesy of my brother Phil.
The Bench of Contemplation.
I do hope you have enjoyed our visit to the Eden Project and that this brief interlude as piqued your interest.
Whether you care about the climate (if you don’t you should) or simply want to spend an afternoon of reflection in inspiring surroundings, this is definitely a destination to visit. Mrs. C and I look forward to coming back during each of the four seasons to see and enjoy the changes in the plant life.
Warmest regards to all from a sunny Plymouth U.K.