Wizard Wheezes on the Way to Eden
Up bright and early for no particular reason today. The hotel restaurant does not open for breakfast until 8:30. How very laid back. Clearly it is very much a leisure rather than business hotel. Or full of retirees? Wonder how many of those make use of he helipad..?
Anyway, throwing open the window to take in the fresh Atlantic air, I am greeted by this view
Retirement is hell.
Now much as I have come to regret a certain lack of planning, I do generally like to to be as flexible as possible on trips so that I can follow an interesting diversion or spend longer somewhere than expected and so the trend of having to pre-book and get an allotted entry time to attractions is anathema to me. Especially this time of year when nothing is busy! Regardless, I have a 12:30 appointment at the Eden Project which will dictate my movements today.
First stop: Merlin’s Cave on the beach below the (very much closed) Tintagel Castle. I have timed this perfectly due to my one piece of research on tides, but even so, knowing that it has recently been full of water and the sea will reclaim it in the not too distant future, adds a twinge of uneasiness to wandering into the cave. According to legend this was either the home of Merlin (seems unlikely unless Merlin was also a Merman) or the route he took with young Arthur when escaping from Tintagel (Tintagel of course being the scene of Arthur’s conception when Uther Pendragon persuaded Merlin to disguise him as the lord of Tintagel so that he could sneak in and have his way with the lady of Tintagel, Igraine). History settled, some images to set the scene:
Feeling pleased to have found my way down to the cave and only slighted winded from the steep climb back up, I consider my options:
Head straight to Eden, get there early and potentially have to hang around before I can get in or
Head to the Hurlers Stone circle enroute and potentially be late to Eden
Screw it, Eden can wait, I opt for 2. Being an afficionado of ancient sites, I can hardly pass up the opportunity for a visit to what looks like one of the more impressive collections of stone circles in Cornwall - a county in which you barely walk a mile or two without tripping over something prehistoric.
And so it proves to be. The Hurlers is a collection of 3 impressive stone circles and a number of nearby standing stones on the edge of Bodmin Moor (Bodmin Moor looks somewhat otherworldly and will certainly warrant another visit at some point). They are also apparently on the Michael/Mary Ley Line which also runs though St Michael’s Mount which I shall be visiting later in the week.
I consider myself well rewarded for the diversion but am then faced with another dilemma. I see this stone structure in the distance (apparently the Cheesewring - no idea why), which is the various info sources claim is natural. Yeah, right!
I really want to head for a closer look, but that will very definitely make me late for Eden. Damn you constrained itinerary! Reluctantly I file it in the “To be Revisited” folder and head out.
The Hurlers is near the village of Minions, which makes me laugh as I approach but then feel mildly offended by the “Welcome to Minions” sign. It’s an emotional minefield depending on your perspective!
And so to Eden. This is much as expected. Which is not to understate what an impressive achievement it is, just that it is unsurprising. I guess I have seen enough about it in the media. The rainforest biome in particular is pretty cool (in a warm, moist humid sort of way!). As is some of the artwork in the Core, especially the smoke ring blowing machine, which had a small child running around in delight for about 20 minutes chasing the rings.
I particularly enjoyed the territorial robin having a go at the fake turtle.
I have, up until now, been a fan of visiting places outside of school holidays when they are generally considerably less busy. This week I have discovered the flaw in this plan: the school trip. They were everywhere in Cheddar Gorge and Eden. Noisy little blighters! It’s not that I am particularly curmudgeonly (others might disagree), but I enjoy a level of quiet serenity when visiting special places and being surrounded by hyperactive, screaming kids definitely makes these experiences a tad less mellow!
Clearly the answer is to never visit anywhere which can be considered to have any educational value!