I HAVE travelled well this week. I have visited the steamy jungles of South and Central America, and walked among the meadows and prairies of California, South Africa and Australia.

I have wandered through the mountains and forests of Indonesia, West and Central Africa. I have even ambled along the lavender and thyme-scented pathways of the Mediterranean.

I wasn't on an around-the-world-in-a-week trip.

I had made the equally long and exhausting journey down to Cornwall. I had at last undertaken the must-do horticultural pilgrimage to the Eden Project.

Like many other people, I have followed the progress of the Eden Project through the media, right from conception, through its construction phases to completion and eventual opening. I already felt as though I knew it.

Being there in the flesh though takes the experience to another level.

Television pictures and photographs can give you an overall impression of the place, but they can't give you the smell of the wet earth, the thunderous sounds rising up from the waterfall, the enveloping heat and the surrounding excitement in the crowd.

There is no warm-up to your arrival at the project, only hidden anticipation. It is so well tucked out of sight that the first time you realise that you are there is when you arrive at the turning into the entrance.

Parking is well signposted and marshalled. All the zones are named after fruit, which makes it easy to remember where you have parked.

We were in the purple plum zone. A short trip on the courtesy bus took us to the entrance tunnel and gave us the first glimpses of the two massive 'biomes' sitting like giant washing-up liquid bubbles at the bottom of a disused clay pit.

The interactive environmental experience begins as soon as you get through the doors. The path down to the domes is a long winding one, with examples of different planting methods, planting materials and mixes. The suggested route back is even more interesting, incorporating a myriad of extremely clever artistic structures. They grab your attention so much that you don't even notice the steep climb up (there is a free mini-train for those who wish to cheat).

In fact, art plays a big part in the Eden Project experience as local artists have been commissioned to make all of the signage, interactive models and information boards.

The tropical biome was everything that I thought it would be and thoroughly lived up to my expectations. The temperature was nice and pleasant for the first section, but the further into the jungle you went, the warmer it got.

The higher the path, the greater the build-up of sweat on the brow. Relief could be sought from the misting heads, spray from the waterfalls and frequent water fountains. It wasn't so hot that it couldn't be enjoyed, though.

The planting was thick and luscious with most of the interesting stuff well labelled. This was interspersed with educational areas where links and explanations were made with various jungle produce. Gardeners and guides dressed in safari gear added to the image of tropicality (although the local lilting accent soon shocked you out of the illusion when you were expecting perhaps a slight Portuguese, antipodean or colonial one).

I wasn't overly impressed with the second temperate zone, but that might just be that the plants aren't as foreign to us as the more tropical ones. The warmer winters over the past few years have allowed us to grow many of the more Mediterranean varieties in our own gardens. It was interesting but not stunning.

The food and the shops were excellent too. It was mostly locally sourced or organic or environmentally-sound produce.

The entrance fee of £10 (£5 reduced rates) may have seemed a little steep at first, but it does give you a whole day of parking (which in Cornwall can in itself be expensive) viewing, education and inspiration.

You are also reassured that you are not lining the pockets of retired board members and endless directors as, being a non-profit making organisation, all the money gets ploughed back into the project. Certainly all the ground staff I spoke to seemed well keyed-into the ethos of the place.

They already have plans for a third dome, an educational centre and an arts centre.

That means that I will get an excuse to make another trip south in the coming years.

Published: 19/04/2003