BodelvaCornwall

Bodelva at a glance

Bodelva: the small Cornish hamlet that is home to the Eden Project

Bodelva (Boselwydh in Cornish) is a hamlet in south Cornwall, in the civil parish of St Blaise. It lies about a mile west of St Blazey. The Cornish name is given as meaning the dwelling of Elwydh.

Bodelva is the site of the Eden Project, a horticultural visitor attraction built in a reclaimed china clay pit. The pit had been worked for over 160 years and was nearly exhausted by the mid-1990s. The first idea for the project dates to 1996 and building began in 1998. The visitor centre opened in May 2000 and the full site opened on 17 March 2001.

The attraction is built around two large biomes, made of tubular steel with inflated panels in place of glass. The Rainforest Biome holds tropical plants such as bananas, coffee, rubber and giant bamboo, and the Mediterranean Biome holds plants such as olives and grape vines. Outdoor gardens represent temperate regions, with plants such as tea, lavender and hops.

The pit has also been a film and event location. It appeared as the surface of Magrathea in the 1981 BBC series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was used for the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day, and hosted the Live 8 Africa Calling concert on 2 July 2005. A bus service links the site with St Austell railway station on the Cornish Main Line. For opening times and tickets, use the Eden Project's own website.