Not a Cheap Date
⬅ previous ⬆intro next ➡Day 13 ~ Saturday 14 September ~ St Blazey to Weston-Super-Mare
Aha, I think that's a clue!
Now here's a bit of a problem. The start is here at the car park, but the finish is inside and nowhere near, so this whole area will be deserted shortly. There are lockers you can leave stuff you don't want to run with, but you need a pound coin to operate them. Do we have a pound coin? Of course not.
But while we are scratching our heads, a very very nice lady who is well prepared gives us a coin to use. Sorted.
We're ready to rock!
No surprise, Amanda finishes well ahead of me so she can take a picture of me coming in. We've certainly got a nice day for it.
This is where you first see the biomes on the parkrun course, although obviously we didn't stop to take a picture then.
We visited Eden many years ago, not long after it opened. None of this landscaping existed then, and we're interested to see what else is new.
In we go. The parkrun start is before Eden officially opens, so we are pretty much the first visitors.
Ooh, what a curious bird. There are several of them in different colours and we have no idea what they are.
Fortunately there's a sign.
Amanda really doesn't like rope bridges, but she is bold and brave for this one.
Me being arty again.
That platform will be open to ascend shortly. Amanda thinks it really is a bit high for her, but naturally I'm well up for it.
I look down...
Amanda looks up.
By sheerest coincidence, as I'm on my way down again, I meet the lady who gave us the pound coin in the queue for the next ascent. I return her coin with our gratitude for her kindness.
I'm reminded of the time in Oman when we spent an hour or two gathering huge amounts of debris from one of the beaches.
Some workers on the outside of the biome.
The rites of Dionysus, as if you needed to be told.
An entirely new facility is the "Core". It hosts artworks as well as biologically themed exhibitions and this is a ceramic smoke ring generator.
Fascinating! Read more here about Infinity Blue.
Anyway, after Eden, our destination for the afternoon and tonight is Weston-super-Mare. Oh, and we never did see Aria, the girl from the house last night, although she appears in the results. Too fast for us, but she is only about 22!
Weston: we will take a little stroll along the seaside.
Goodness!
It's not quite the end of the season, but the wheel doesn't seem to have any passengers.
Hmm... There are a lot of empty calories, sugar and saturated fats on offer here. Every few yards there seems to be a donut shop and no shortage of people keen to ensure their profitability. I don't think they'd ever remake Baywatch here.
We do like these fish (or is it boat?) themed benches, though.
So to our Premier Inn for the night. There's a waterfront location which is not where we're staying, and another one a couple of miles away which is much cheaper. We're staying at the cheaper one, but not because we want to save money, no, we have a reason...
⬅ previous ⬆intro next ➡