The first time I saw the Eden Project was probably in or just after the first year after it opened, 2001. Once a quarry, or more accurately, a china clay pit, this big hole in the ground has been radically transformed into the incredible place that is the Eden Project with its trademark biodomes.

Back then it was just being populated; the domes were there with their own environments but the "pit" was a sparsely-planted. Now it has grown to maturity and what a splendid place the Eden Project is.

Apart from the biodomes there's a couple of new features. There wasn't a bridge there last time, nor the ice-skating rink (although the building might have been there) and then there's The Core, a really interesting building, looking like the shell of a horse chestnut and housing some great interactive features for the kids & the adults too.

Then there's WEEE man. Made out of all manner of rubbish, WEEE man is a giant sculpture comprising everything from washing machine drums to computer mice, a microwave oven, an old Flymo mower... WEEE man was built to promote understanding of the European Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive.

So what do we now do with waste electrical/electronic equipment? We reduce, reuse, recycle and make great big towering scultptures out of it.

The biodomes (or biomes) are as I remember them. I visited the warm temperate dome first and explored olive groves, cork trees & vineyards of the Mediterranean, South African finebos and California. This is a fun biome, full of plants & sculptures, and a few British birds flitting around.

My favourite though I saved 'til last. I took off my gore-tex alpine jacket, fleece & merino fleece (yes, it was a cold day in southwest England) and strolled into the tropical biome. Wow. It was hot & humid and totally awesome. It really was like being in another world in there and I stayed in this particular biome for a good couple of hours.

The tropical biome is by far the biggest dome and houses a rainforest. It's hot in there and damp, there are banana plants, spices, palms, sugar cane, rice, rubber, bamboo... you name it, this is an incredible space. When it's quiet and the kids behave it's really idyllic in there.

But most of all the Eden Project is totally educational. It gives you an insight into faraway places, the plants, the lives of the people and their livelihoods. I'm inspired to go see a real rainforest now.

If you pay for your day ticket and sign up for "gift aid" (giving away the tax to the charity, the Eden Project is a charity BTW) then they will give you a year's entry for free. The snowdrops are out and the daffodils are starting to spring forth, so I might try and pop back when spring is in full flow and then again in the summertime.

If you haven't been, go see the Eden Project, it's highly recommended for the kids and for the grown-ups :)