Tourist & Leisure Attractions - Cornwall Holiday

Here's Mike doing a bit to camera all strapped up with cameras and backpack outside the Eden Project on the first day of our Cornwall holiday.  This picture was taken just before walking down to the amazing biomes (that's the giant bubble-wrap greenhouses).

The biomes look like they're straight out of the Telly Tubbies and we were itching to get in.  Despite being a May weekday and not such great weather, the Eden Project was certainly popular with visitors - we suspect it'll be even busier in peak season.

Once inside the Humid Tropical Biome everybody immediately took their coats off - the temperature is controlled to a tropically humid 28ºC.  Everything looked lush and green with many species of plants from many different parts of the world.  As we...

...climbed higher it got hotter and hotter, there was a cool room near the top for flagging people.  The Eden Project is the world's largest environmentally controlled glass-house, costing £74 million and creating 545 jobs in Cornwall over 16 years.

At one of many information points to tell you all about it Mike definitely agreed with the message that said to eat!  Note the guy on the left with a rather old-fashioned looking phone, probably ringing Dr Who to tell him where bits of his Tardis ended up!

We're now in the other biome at the Eden Project in Cornwall, this one's called the Warm Temperate Biome and was, predictably, much cooler than the Humid Tropical one.  It contained plant species from the Mediterranean, South Africa and California.

We enjoyed several talks and demonstrations that took place inside the biomes.  Check out the Eden Project website for the full story, with tons of information on the plant species, plus other Cornwall resources on our UK tourist links page.

We stayed at Belinda's friend's flat in Bodmin to look after her two kittens, Charlie and Billy.  Mike called him Biffy owing to his habit of biffing you with his head, especially while sleeping.  Changing the cat litter seemed to fall to Mike on this Cornwall holiday!

This welcome sign is at the entrance to the Lappa Valley narrow gauge steam railway and gives visitors the lowdown.  Lappa Valley is an old industrial mineral line and in its heyday ran from Newquay to East Wheel Rose in Cornwall.  We saw...

...the bright red steam engine get a good oiling prior to taking us along to the old mine workings area.  There are two engines, Zebedee and Muffin, and the route runs for two miles through Cornwall's beautiful countryside along the narrow gauge track.

The Lappa Valley narrow gauge steam railway was built to transport the lead they mined at East Wheal Rose; after we arrived we headed to the café for lunch, then looked at the old mine engine house before a game of crazy golf.  See our tourist resources for Lappa Valley and more Cornwall.

We tried the woodland trail at East Wheal Rose, a short but pleasant walk to some more old mine working areas with a quarry and a well.  On our return we had a browse in the inevitable gift shop, but Belinda must be losing her touch as she didn't buy anything this time!

The tower with the oil drum on top is used to fill the little Lappa Valley steam engines with water.  Other leisure facilities at East Wheal Rose in Cornwall include a boating lake and two other, even narrower gauge railways at this old lead mine to ride on.

So all cosy in the carriage for the journey back on the Lappa Valley railway.  Actually it was rather bumpy and windy, but hey, great fun chuffing through the countryside with the smell of the steam billowing through.  Our Cornish visits continue >>>