1. Before you arrive: planning your visit and personal assistance
Access volunteers
We offer a scheme for people who experience mobility or sensory impairments. We have an excellent team of volunteers to assist visitors around the project. There is no charge for this service. In order to ensure that there is a volunteer available please book at least two weeks in advance by telephone on 01726 818558 or email ccorbett@edenproject.com. When on site a member of staff is always close at hand to offer you all/any assistance required.
Assistance dogs
Assistance dogs are welcome at Eden and water is available for them around the site.
Personal assistants
If you have personal assistants to help you, there is no admission charge for them.
Wheelchairs
We welcome all types of mobility vehicles and we also have a number of manual wheelchairs (approx 40) which are free of charge and available to borrow on a first come first served basis (*booking isn’t necessary for the manual chairs*). These chairs are stored in the accessible parking areas Apple 1 & 2.
We have six powered chairs (subject to operational availability) which are available to book in advance; we recommend one month's notice to avoid disappointment. The weight limit for these chairs is 21 stone.
If you would like to book a powered chair please call the Box Office Team on 01726 811911.
2. How to get to the Eden Project
Please check our Directions page, which includes information on how to get here on foot, by bike, car, public transport, or from the airport.
3. When you arrive
Parking
There is plenty of free parking at Eden. We have lots of car park stewards to help you. All of the car parks are named after fruit, like Banana, Apple, Orange or Strawberry to help you remember where you are parked. You might have to park away from the entrance because the site is so large however this can often be the easiest and shortest way to get to the entrance. There are Park-and-ride buses that will take you from the car parks to the drop off point nearest the entrance and Visitor Centre. There are well signposted footpaths if you would like to walk to the entrance and Visitor Centre. If you have any questions about accessible parking and access issues please call our Access Eden helpline on 01726 818558 or 01726 811911 for the main switchboard .
Park-and-ride
The Park-and-ride buses run a non-stop service from the car parks to the nearest drop off point to the Visitor Centre. The buses are fully accessible and all pick up and drop off points have raised kerbs to accommodate access.
Accessible parking
When you drive into the Eden Project please display your Blue Badge clearly if you have one. If you are not a Blue badge holder but need accessible parking please speak to a car park steward when you arrive. Accessible parking spaces are available in car parks Apple 1, Apple 2 and Banana. The car park stewards will direct you. Please note the Park-and-Ride buses do not run from these car parks. To get to the Visitor Centre from Apple 1 car park you need to go down a tarmac path. The path is 32 metres long. The gradient is 1:18 with a short steeper section at 1:10. You can book assistance before you arrive. Please telephone our access line on 01726 818895 for more information or 01726 811911 for the main switchboard. There are manual wheelchairs available in Apple 1 car park.
Drop-off points
If you need to drop off someone there is a drop-off area in Apple 2 car park – for directions just ask any of our car park stewards. If further assistance is required please call the steward team on 07929 202408.
Taxi drop-off
The taxi drop off point is Banana coach park where you will also find toilet facilities and lockers.
Visitor Centre
In front of the Visitor Centre there is a covered area. This area has flat level access. There are toilets and a cash point and on the right is the Visitor Centre where you buy tickets and enter the Eden Project. If you need to borrow a wheelchair or would like assistance please see a steward in the Visitor Centre.
Accessible toilet
The Changing Places accessible toilet in the Visitor Centre includes a height adjustable changing bench, a hoist system, shower and space for a disabled person and up to two personal assistants.
4. During your visit
a) Getting Around
Gradients and surfaces
The Eden Project is an old clay mine and as such it is a challenging site with a variety of gradients. Zig-zag paths that cross the slopes have been used to keep steep gradients to a minimum. There are a number of accessible transport options on site and the stewards are always keen to help. Path surfaces on site inside and outside the biomes are tarmaced except for some of the paths in the Outdoor Garden in the Wild Cornwall area. Please not that the upper floor of the link building, whilst accessible, is a decked area, so could prove bumpy for some mobility vehicles. If you experience, or think you might experience probelms please contact a member of staff either before your visit or whilst you're here who will help you access the biomes via an alternative route.
Recommended routes
There are three recommended routes from the Visitor Centre to the Link building. Inside the Link building you will find a range of facilities including cafes, seating, toilets and of course the entrances to the Biomes. These routes offer the easiest access to the Biomes.
Route 1: Minimum gradient - The Core
Turn to the right from the Visitor Centre, go over the bridge and take the lift down to the back of the Core building. Enter the first floor of the Core through the automatic doors on the deck area. Take the lift from beyond the Eden Deli to ground level. You can then exit the building and turn right. This is the main path to the Link building and the Biomes.
Route 2: Gentle gradient - The zig-zag path
Walk left from the Visitor Centre down the zig-zag path which is a continuous 1:18 graded tarmac path with landings at each end. This is the most commonly used route, keep heading down to the middle of the pit and then head to the Link building and the entrance to the biomes.
Route 3: Assisted transport - The Land Train
Turn left from the Visitor Centre and take the left turning under the covered walkway to the Land Train. The Land train will take you through the Outdoor Garden to the Stage area which is a short flat walk from the Link building and the entrance to the biomes. The last carriage has been adapted to accommodate up to 3 wheelchairs, it is also able to carry most larger mobility wheelchairs. The entrance to the Biomes is through the Link building which is between the two biomes. The Link building contains restaurants, cafes and toilets.
b) Accessible services and facilities
To help Eden provide you with the best possible service we ask you to provide any access requirements you may have when booking your tickets. The box office staff are fully trained to help with any information regarding access and have attended TypeTalk training. Tickets can be booked by telephoning the box office on 01726 811972 or on the Tickets page of our website.
c) Toilets
All toilets on site are easily accessible and offer accessible facilities. They are located in Banana coach park, the Visitor Centre (on the left as you come in), The Core and in the Link Building between the Biomes.
d) Hearing loops
Hearing loops are available at 3 of the ticketing booths located in the Visitor Centre at arrival. They will be shown by the T and ear symbol sign on the desks. We also have accessible telephones fitted with an induction loop, which work with a behind-the-ear hearing aid set to 'T'; please ask Eden staff for location of the nearest telephone.
e) Information (large print, Braille, audio tours)
There is a Braille guidebook translation available to borrow while visiting Eden, and an MP3 version available via email: please call 01726 818878/01726 818558 or email ccorbett@edenproject.com.
f) Food and drink
The restaurants and cafés at Eden offer vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. As well as enjoying the food you can also find out all about food and how it grows at Eden. We support the local economy by buying local food when we can.
Our permanent catering outlets and bars have dropped counters to help with accessibility.
g) Seating and shelter
Eden has plenty of sheltered and indoor spaces as well as the great outdoors. There are also plenty of places to take a rest, on a seat or on some grass.
h) Medical assistance
If you require medical assistance please speak to a member of the Eden Team who will call a member of the First Aid Team. We have a First Aid room in the Visitor Centre, the Link Building and the Core. We also have a paramedic onsite.
i) Sensory highlights
The Eden Project is a feast for all the senses.
Sight
After arriving at Eden you will go through the Visitor Centre and step out onto the viewing platform where you will be presented with the spectacle that is Eden. The breathtaking landscape encircles the Biomes, giant stage and the Core, our unique copper roofed building. The more you look the more you see. As you explore you will be tantalised by the colours, shapes and patterns that present themselves! Eden is a living project that will be different every time you come.
Touch
The Biomes offer a full sensory experience as you travel from the temperate tropics outside through the humidity of the Rainforest Biome and the dry warmth of the Mediterranean Biome. There are many natural textures that can be explored in the Outdoor Garden particularly in Wild Cornwall. Don’t forget to check out the back wall in the Core which is covered in hand prints; see if you can find one the same as your own.
Sound
Listen to the roar of the waterfall in the Rainforest Biome, or see if you can identify some of the British birds that have made the Outdoor Garden their home. Every summer Eden puts on the Eden Sessions, a series of outdoor concerts; come and experience the joy of music in the magical setting of Eden.
Smell
Take in the rich smell of nature decomposing in the Rainforest Biome and the dry fragrance in the Mediterranean Biome. Outside you will find a range of heady scents through the garden of flowers, lilies, sweet peas and many more!
Taste
Enjoy the fresh taste of local produce at all of the restaurants and cafes or try our own Eden Ale, brewed with St Austell Brewery. Cool down with a Cornish ice cream or take home a tempting treat from the Shop.
