Eden Project

Duke and Duchess of Cornwall visit Eden to mark start of new Rainforest Walkway

We had some special guests yesterday, when Charles and Camilla,  the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, came to Eden as part of a two-day tour in the West Country.

During their visit they helped us mark the start of our planned Rainforest Walkway, which we’re building to enable people to explore the treetops high up in the Tropical Biome. They drove a specially inscribed bamboo stake into the ground, which reads: ‘Eden Project Rainforest Walkway – The journey begins. The future of the Rainforest is our future too. Marked by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall.’

You can watch them giving the stake a good wallop here on ITV’s The Westcountry Tonight.

We’re aiming to raise £2.5 million to create the whole Rainforest Experience, which will include the walkway and a learning centre , complete with scientific research equipment and hammocks, just like an authentic field station. So far we’ve got together more than £1 million.

Hosted by Eden Chief Executive Tim Smit and Managing Director Gaynor Coley, the Duke and Duchess also got to meet horticultural experts at Eden including rainforest guru and Eden Trustee Sir Ghillean Prance and Eden’s Chair of Horticulture Don Murray, who explained the walkway plans.

The whistle-stop tour included a chat with our Head Buyer, who showed them some examples of Eden’s ethical shop products, a gift of freshly made bread in the new Eden Bakery and a special ascent of our helium-filled Rainforest Balloon up to the top of the 50-metre Biome.

Our guests also had sneak preview of Eden’s 10th anniversary summer show Labyrinth, when performers from the acclaimed NoFit State Circus were suspended from the roof structure to create the figure 10 to mark our first decade.

After the visit Tim Smit said: ‘Today has been a great day for sharing our commitment to the [rainforest] cause and feeling optimistic in the face of so much public support. It didn’t feel like a stuffy visit of VIPs. It felt like welcoming respected friends.’

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• Eden's 10th birthday

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Eden's 10th birthday, Rainforest Biome