In article , =20
says...
I am planning to go away late Spring/early Summer (my birthday falls=20
mid-May) and I've been promising myself I'd visit Eden since it opened. I=
'd=20
like to hear others' opinions, was it worth the entrance fee? Also, any=
=20
recommendations of budget accommodation would be good, too. I've been=20
looking at hostels (I'm a member of the YHA) but there don't seem to be a=
ny=20
in the vicinity. Just to give you an idea, my income is =A3110pw (that's =
DLA),=20
so I need to budget rather strictly (though I have thought it might be=20
rather fun to challenge myself and see what the minimum daily survival=20
amount would be).

We went to the Eden Project in May 2003. It is impressive. The site is=20
large and presumably two years down the line the planting will be that=20
much more advanced. We found the place to be a bit clinical and lacking=20
that loved feeling that you get in many gardens. The outside planting=20
was still fairly immature when we went and there was no flow to the=20
place. The domes were full of mildly interesting stuff, but we felt=20
rushed by the press of people even in May. Once you got back outside it=20
felt kind of bleak and empty. The ticketing is geared up to get as much=20
cash as possible utilising 'gift aid' to claw taxed income back from the=20
inland revenue, but the discount price was OK. The gift shop was as=20
expensive as you'd expect and the food area was very expensive so take a=20
packed lunch.

If you can get there by public transport, I'd recommend the Lost Gardens=20
at Heligan over Eden by a long way. There was so much to see and the=20
place felt so much more welcoming. The prices for a cream tea were=20
steep, but not extravagent and the plants were a touch on the expensive=20
side (just enough to stop me buying a couple of azaleas).

For an even more loved garden, although not quite so much to see, I'd=20
recommend Pencarrow. The cafe was a bit spartan, but not expensive and=20
the plants for sale were hidden in a corner that we almost didn't notice=20
with very low prices and a requirement for you to be honest and pay for=20
them in the cafe please.

Our holiday in Cornwall was our first with a dog and the last before our=20
first child arrived. Eden doesn't let dogs on the site, although they=20
have a special parking area under cover to leave cars with dogs in.=20
Heligan lets dogs in on leads. Pencarrow asks you not to let dogs off=20
the lead in the formal gardens.

We paid attention to the child orientation of the places too.

Eden is geared up to be educational, there were packs to pick up with=20
various bits of fun for the children an lots of informative signs etc.

Heligan is much more adult, although the sculptures they've made in the=20
grounds are fun and the layout of the place should keep children=20
entertained.=20

Pencarrow had signs saying "Please encourage your children to roll down=20
the slopes and enjoy themselves as we, our children and grandchildren=20
have had many happy times playing in the gardens"

If you want to have a look at our pictures of the three places, our=20
album is online at

http://www.affordable-afpers.co.uk/a...May/index.html

Obviously Eden will be a bit more along in the outside planting by now,=20
but the series of picture for that start at..

http://www.affordable-afpers.co.uk/a...des/eden1.html

We'll probably holiday in Cornwall again in the future. We'll always go=20
back to Pencarrow, we'll go to Eden once more as an educational thing=20
with DD and I'm not sure if we'll ever go back to Heligan in the next=20
decade.

Saying that, May should be a nice time to go and visit any of the=20
informal gardens you can get to that have large collections of Azaleas=20
and Rhodos.

Warwick