Eden project £6.3 loss

[Ludwig]

I was sad to read that the Eden project had posted a £6.3m loss. They blamed it on the Olympics and the bad weather. I have been there and it was very expensive to get in but very impressive. I guess a big probl;em is its relative isolation, competition from other tourist attactions and the the landscape down in Cornwall is beautiful and free. It may go the way of several other Millenium type projects that have had to close which would be sad. If they drastically reduced the entrance fee it would make a huge difference.

 

[Dave 123]

I've been a couple of times. Once when I lived down in Plymouth and once when I'd moved to Cambridge. I have worked in horticulture all of my life.
I wouldn't want to see a horticultural attraction too often as it's fairly similar year to year.
I always saw it as a one trick pony (a good one though).
But I guess it's the likes of me who go 2-3 times in 15 years who don't balance the books.

I have contemplated applying for jobs there in the past but the pay is derisory at best, so you can't blame the staff!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

[QUOTE 2870053, member: 45"]If I wanted to see plants I'd go to Webbs. It's free.[/quote]

Miserable git, that's like comparing the Natural History Museum to Dewhurst as they've both got bones.

 

[vernon]

Miserable git, that's like comparing the Natural History Museum to Dewhurst as they've both got bones.

The Natural history Museum is still with us.....

 

[cosmicbike]

Shame, but unless you are a dead keen 'plant' person, 1 visit is enough. We went in 2010, and can't see us going anytime soon..

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

There's probably a limit to how many old people go on bus trips

 

[TVC]

The location is the biggest problem for me, I would love to go, but I would have to plan a holiday to make the trip worthwhile.

 

[nickyboy]

I was sad to read that the Eden project had posted a £6.3m loss. They blamed it on the Olympics and the bad weather. I have been there and it was very expensive to get in but very impressive. I guess a big probl;em is its relative isolation, competition from other tourist attactions and the the landscape down in Cornwall is beautiful and free. It may go the way of several other Millenium type projects that have had to close which would be sad. If they drastically reduced the entrance fee it would make a huge difference.

I suspect this would make the situation worse. I doubt they would pick up enough extra footfall to compensate for lower prices. It's a lovely attraction and I think they could do more to market themselves to a different demographic but it is fundamentally too far from population centres

 

[Over The Hill]

I love Kew gardens and go every year or so. Part of its attraction is its age and the style of the various glass houses. Eden has none of that and is rather unattractive to look at. I really do not fancy it. That said I am on holiday in St Ives this year so you never know.

Adult and two kids to get into Kew - £29.00
Adult and two kids to get into Eden project - £62.90 (with a book in advance discount). So perhaps not!

 

[Beebo]

Adult and two kids to get into Eden project - £62.90 (with a book in advance discount). So perhaps not!

Wow - how long can you spend there? Is there stuff to do for more than a couple of hours, I have never been, but is it more than just a few fancy greenhouses?
Kew or Wisley are large enough to spend a good 4-5 hours on site.
I bought my parents annual membership to the RHS - £40 for a couple, and they can go to 150 gardens for free. They live near Wisley so can just pop along when they feel like it.

 

[swee'pea99]

I love Kew gardens and go every year or so. Part of its attraction is its age and the style of the various glass houses. Eden has none of that and is rather unattractive to look at. I really do not fancy it. That said I am on holiday in St Ives this year so you never know.

Adult and two kids to get into Kew - £29.00
Adult and two kids to get into Eden project - £62.90 (with a book in advance discount). So perhaps not!

YeGods! And I thought Kew was pricey. That's insane! How can they expect people to spend that kind of money on what's sure to be a reasonably interesting and enjoyable hour or two?

Believe it or not, when I were a lad, we used to go to Kew Gardens all the time, and d'you know how much it cost to get in?

That's how much. Seriously. One & thruppence for a family of five.

£62.90. Yer'avin'alarf aren't yer?

 

[Fnaar]

When the kids were little, I hated taking them to 'exhibition' type places with 'interactive content'. I've never been to Eden centre, and probably will never go there, but I'm just having a rant.

These places were always overpriced, and full of hyperactive little gits frantically wiggling joysticks on the 'exhibits' to no effect whatsoever, while ever so earnest parents hovered over them and said "Now look Henry, can you guess what will happen if you try to move the crane from A to B?" Meanwhile, little Henry had made the crane collapse and is sprinting up a dinosaur's tail spilling cranberry juice everywhere and shouting "I want chocolate! I want chocolate!". I exchange what I think is a knowing, wry glance with the guy on my left, only to find his eyes glazed over, dead inside, overcome by an existential angst the like of which would have frightened JP Sartre to death, as he clutches his child's teddy to his breast and mouths "I never wanted this...nobody told me... where is my mummy?" and begins to sob uncontrollably into his luke-warm latte.
God I'm glad those days are over

 

[ASC1951]

Believe it or not, when I were a lad, we used to go to Kew Gardens all the time, and d'you know how much it cost to get in?
View attachment 36260
That's how much. Seriously. One & thruppence for a family of five.

Where's the One, then?

 

[MontyVeda]

If only they closed a few tax holes to stop the extremely rich avoid paying millions of pounds worth of taxes each and every year... the Government could quite easily subsidise places such as The Eden Project and make them more affordable.

 

[Fnaar]

When the kids were little, I hated taking them to 'exhibition' type places with 'interactive content'. I've never been to Eden centre, and probably will never go there, but I'm just having a rant.

These places were always overpriced, and full of hyperactive little gits frantically wiggling joysticks on the 'exhibits' to no effect whatsoever, while ever so earnest parents hovered over them and said "Now look Henry, can you guess what will happen if you try to move the crane from A to B?" Meanwhile, little Henry had made the crane collapse and is sprinting up a dinosaur's tail spilling cranberry juice everywhere and shouting "I want chocolate! I want chocolate!". I exchange what I think is a knowing, wry glance with the guy on my left, only to find his eyes glazed over, dead inside, overcome by an existential angst the like of which would have frightened JP Sartre to death, as he clutches his child's teddy to his breast and mouths "I never wanted this...nobody told me... where is my mummy?" and begins to sob uncontrollably into his luke-warm latte.
God I'm glad those days are over

...and then you'd get to the caff, where the savvy parents would buy one coffee and surreptitously feed the kids the food they'd brought with them, while one unlucky chap who hadn't prepared himself walks away from the till saying very loudly "Fifteen pounds twenty for two teas and two orange juices?!?! You need a bloody mortgage for this place!" while his blushing wife tries to shh him and manages the kids into formica seats, one of them falling off and splitting his head on the side of the table, while his now apopleptic father bumps into another table and spills one of the teas all over the confused grandmother at the next table, but there's no need to call an ambulance as the tea was nearly cold anyway.
Meanwhile back at the till, the spotty student cashier gets in a muddle over another family's change, and the mother tries to help him out with simple arithmetic while the dad mouths off about standards of education, and asks him to please stop picking his nose while speaking to him, while the cashier then starts sticking his finger through the hole in his 'extender' earring which has permanently disfigured his earlobe in a move he will come to regret in later years. An announcement over the tannoy asks the parents of Jemima and Henry to come to the dinosaur section where their children have finally been found safe and well inside the Stegosaurus, and reminds people that as it is three o'clock the centre will be closing in 5 minutes and they should make their way to the exits.
The clown hired for the children's party in basement 6 puts away his things and takes a long draught of cheap vodka from a hip flask, and rues the day he left his teaching job. 'Little f*ck*rs" he says to himself in the mirror, and thumps the wall in anger.