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Please note that I own the copyright to every image on this website, you can contact me here for further information.
In response to all the various emails I've received over the last two years, I've decided to add a little more information about St Austell here.  The main aim of the site was to display a few assorted photos I had of the town centre, since I hadn't seen anything similar on other sites.

As I've managed to get my site listed in many search engines, when people search for "St Austell" they often seem to end up here.  This page will provide links to other sites that may be of interest to you, depending on why you ended up here in the first place.  I do get quite a few emails from people who aren't from the UK, so I thought that it would be a good idea to include some quite general links about the country which I hope you'll also find useful.

If there's anything you're trying to find out about the area that these links don't help you with, then email me and ask - I might be able to help.  Or if you know of any links which you think I should include, then please let me know.  I'm still expanding this new page and a lot of the information I include comes from answering people's questions.





Places to visit in St Austell


I've had several requests for further information/pictures of the Eden Project near St Austell, and their official site is well worth exploring.  The project has seen a disused china clay pit turned into a major tourist attraction, in the form of giant biomes, basically 'futuristic' greenhouses, which are now home to plants from all around the world.  I'm very much looking forward to visiting it myself, and it's a major boost for the St Austell area.

The Unofficial Eden Project Website is an enthusiastic fan site with many many photos - from the construction stage through to when it was opened to the public.  Includes a virtual tour, showing that there's more to Eden than the biomes.  Updated very regularly, a growing collection of photographs that surpass the number available on the official site.

Getting there by public transport:  The nearest train station to Eden is St Austell.  Find out train times from Railtrack, or buy tickets online through TheTrainline.  Then take the new Truronian Eden Branchline coach from St Austell bus station (the bus station is next to the train station).  Their timetable is designed to coincide with trains arriving in St Austell.

I've searched out various online news stories about the Eden Project (since search engines don't cover archived stories like these) which has received a lot of press attention - locally, nationally and internationally.
BBC News online - several stories available, currently:
   Watch the new Eden grow (includes 2 minute video clip) - 16th March 2001
   Picture gallery: Eden takes shape - 16th March 2001
   UK's hi-tech 'Garden of Eden' - 15th March 2001
   UK 'Garden of Eden' takes shape - 15th May 2000
   UK's 'Garden of Eden' takes root - 3rd October 2000
   In pictures: The Eden Project - 15th May 2000

BBC online - two main links:
   Gardener's World - 5 minute clip from this BBC programme about Eden
   Eighth wonder of the world! - story about Eden opening

The Independent (British newspaper):
   - Eden opening, 17th March 2001

The Washington Post (which is one of the few US papers I visited with free archives)
   England's Eden: Dome & Garden - a US reporter takes the red-eye to visit Eden
   - entertaining article, 1st April 2001

   ETFE: a lightweight alternative to glass - article about the material behind the biomes


The Times (London)
   You can Adam and Eve it - 31st March 2001 (Adam and Eve is slang for 'believe')
   Genesis of the garden - 14th March 2001
   Why I created Eden - 12th March 2001

   Largest freestanding scaffolding

The Guardian (British newspaper)
   It came from outer Cornwall - 12th March 2001
   Heavenly dome - 11th March 2001
   Heaven and earth in the new Eden - 21st October 2000
   And next he created Eden - 27th August 2000

This is Cornwall (collection of Cornish newspapers online)
   Butterflies' tropical home? - 9th March 2001
   Blair: Eden Project - 10th February 2000


Another project by Eden's creator, Tim Smit, is also close to St Austell.  That is the Lost Gardens of Heligan - gardens that became overgrown after the First World War that were carefully restored by many local groups and volunteers.  I believe that they are currently the most visited private gardens in England, and they were the subject of a
Channel 4 documentary, with books and videos available from the Channel 4 shop,
Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com - just search for "heligan".

If you fancy going to the cinema, then find out what's on in St Austell's 5 screen Film Centre on Virgin.net - if this link doesn't take you directly to a results page, then simply search for St Austell.  Failing that, telephone 01726 73750 to find out what's on (if the cinema's closed, the answering machine recording tells you what's on).



Places to visit slightly further afield

This obviously isn't going to be an exhaustive list, but what follows are a few places you might like to consider.

West Cornwall:

Flambards Village Theme Park offers various different attractions: rides and amusements from miniature golf to a roller coaster - many people visit for this part alone, plus a recreated Victorian street full of shop windows to gaze in, a Britain in the Blitz display, and the Aero park collection of ten classic military aircraft.  Flambards is near Helston, and there's 24hr info hotline: 01326 564 093.

The National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek is close by.  Their own site offers some nice pictures, and it's the cute seals that everyone goes to see after all, but this page gives a slightly more polished overview.  Always plan your visit so that you'll be there at feeding time, the staff throw the fish around so that visitors get to have a good look at the seals.  This is a sanctuary though, so don't expect seals that have been taught circus tricks, they are either their because they are recovering from illness or injury, and will be returned to the wild, or they are living their days out in peace.  The sanctuary is open every day except Christmas day, though the pools are outside, so don't go if the weather's too awful.

Goonhilly Earth Station - the largest satellite station on Earth, links the UK with the rest of the world.  They handle over 10 million international phone calls a week, and also handle television events such as the Olympic games, which they pass on to the BBC in London to transmit to the nation.  Goonhilly is on the Lizard Peninsular.

On the beautiful north coast, fans of modern art must visit the Tate St Ives - obviously a sister to the famous Tate Britain in London.  The collection is housed in a new building (well, built in 1993) which has beautiful views as it's built right next to the sea.  Do look out for the seagulls though if you're walking around in St Ives with any food in your hands, unless the council have managed to get them under control since I last visited, they have an off-putting habit of landing on your head and stealing your food as it's on the way to your mouth!



News, weather and what's on?

For a good portal to discover more about what's happening in Cornwall, try This is Cornwall.  The site is funded by the owners of the Cornish Guardian, The West Briton and The Cornishman, all popular papers which cover different parts of Cornwall.  So, expect up to date local news, weather, horoscopes etc etc.

To find out what's happening in the UK, BBC News Online is unsurpassed.  For in-depth weather information, the BBC's Weather Centre provides well illustrated weather forecasts - try typing St Austell into the search box on the right hand side, and get a detailed five day forecast.  On the national map and satellite pictures, remember that Cornwall is in the far SW of England, basically west of Plymouth.



Looking for people or businesses

For finding people or businesses, try searching the BT directory (people and businesses) or the Yellow Pages (businesses only, longer addresses than BT) or the
Thomson Local (businesses and link to people search).

If you're stuck with a fragment of an address (like just the house number and the postcode - some friends don't have very clear handwriting), or all of the address except the postcode (e.g. a St Austell postcode might start with PL25 or PL26) then the Royal Mail has the answer.  Use either their postcode or address finders.



How to travel around the country and region

St Austell is linked to the rest of the country by a good rail network.  For times and availability, go to Railtrack and follow the link to the timetable.  For fares and any other information, you will have to telephone National Rail enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 (this number from within British Isles only, try thetrainline.com for ticket information online).  I haven't found this service to be 100% reliable, so always make it very clear if you are hoping to travel on a weekday or on a Saturday or Sunday etc, and expect fares to vary according to the time of day on weekdays.  People using the trains early in the morning get charged more.

To find out which towns have railway stations, have a look at the route maps on the
Nation Rail site - this site also has lots of other useful rail information, e.g. current conditions and delays.

National Express is a reliable coach company which covers the whole country, use their website GoByCoach to plan your journey and book tickets online.  Expect coach journeys to take longer in general than train journeys, but to be cheaper.  I've travelled long-distance by both train and coach in the UK, and I prefer taking the train, when I can afford it.  The train can be prohibitively expensive though, and the coach is a useful option.  National Express coaches have always been fully air-conditioned in my experience, and also include a chemical toilet.  Due to safety regulations, long coach journeys always have rest stops where all the passengers get the chance to get off the coach to smoke, visit toilets and shops in the motorway services, these stops are factored into the journey times.  Expect all food on trains, coaches, in service stations etc to be overpriced, they know they have a captive audience.  There's nothing to stop you taking your own food and drinks aboard.  Be warned that although trains with a buffet car are licensed to sell alcohol, coaches generally don't permit you to carry alcohol with you unless it's kept underneath the coach with your luggage.

Both the AA (The Automobile Association) and the RAC (Royal Automobile Club) have a very usefu route planners for planning car journeys around the country (actually covers Britain, Ireland and Continental Europe).  Providing clear directions, with an option to see them illustrated on a map.

For other online maps, Streetmap.co.uk and Multimap.co.uk will provide you maps of varying detail, the most detailed being their street maps (for a St Austell street map, try searching for PL25 under the postcode option).  I find online maps are only of limited value though, and nothing can beat a good road atlas to keep in your car.  Get a good road map (try searching for "britain road atlas" at amazon.co.uk for example) if you are planning to do a lot of travelling by car in the UK.

Although this won't help you plan routes around the country, it's an interesting site, which I thought you might enjoy.  Getmapping.com is the online home of the Millennium Map (TM) - aerial photographs taken of the whole of Britain.  At the moment you can view most of England, and parts of Wales online.  The pictures available on their website are detailed and of good quality (try searching for PL25 to see St Austell), and you can buy any views that you like (they will be of a higher, photographic quality).  Also available to buy, are Domesday certificates for areas mentioned in that book.



General information about Britain

Find out about Britain from your own country's point of view through the network of British Embassies (as listed on Yahoo).  They generally include information about British laws, visas, current events in Britain that might affect you, etc, etc.


Accommodation in and around St Austell

For comprehensive accommodation information, I recommend going straight to the St Austell Tourist Information Centre - download their lists of local accommodation, suitable for every budget.  Book in advance and enjoy your stay in the area.

Further information and links
In response to all the various emails I've received over the last two years, I've decided to add a little more information about St Austell here.  The main aim of the site was to display a few assorted photos I had of the town centre, since I hadn't seen anything similar on other sites.

As I've managed to get my site listed in many search engines, when people search for "St Austell" they often seem to end up here.  This page will provide links to other sites that may be of interest to you, depending on why you ended up here in the first place.  I do get quite a few emails from people who aren't from the UK, so I thought that it would be a good idea to include some quite general links about the country which I hope you'll also find useful.

If there's anything you're trying to find out about the area that these links don't help you with, then email me and ask - I might be able to help.  Or if you know of any links which you think I should include, then please let me know.  I'm still expanding this new page and a lot of the information I include comes from answering people's questions.





Places to visit in St Austell


I've had several requests for further information/pictures of the Eden Project near St Austell, and their official site is well worth exploring.  The project has seen a disused china clay pit turned into a major tourist attraction, in the form of giant biomes, basically 'futuristic' greenhouses, which are now home to plants from all around the world.  I'm very much looking forward to visiting it myself, and it's a major boost for the St Austell area.

The Unofficial Eden Project Website is an enthusiastic fan site with many many photos - from the construction stage through to when it was opened to the public.  Includes a virtual tour, showing that there's more to Eden than the biomes.  Updated very regularly, a growing collection of photographs that surpass the number available on the official site.

Getting there by public transport:  The nearest train station to Eden is St Austell.  Find out train times from Railtrack, or buy tickets online through TheTrainline.  Then take the new Truronian Eden Branchline coach from St Austell bus station (the bus station is next to the train station).  Their timetable is designed to coincide with trains arriving in St Austell.

I've searched out various online news stories about the Eden Project (since search engines don't cover archived stories like these) which has received a lot of press attention - locally, nationally and internationally.
BBC News online - several stories available, currently:
   Watch the new Eden grow (includes 2 minute video clip) - 16th March 2001
   Picture gallery: Eden takes shape - 16th March 2001
   UK's hi-tech 'Garden of Eden' - 15th March 2001
   UK 'Garden of Eden' takes shape - 15th May 2000
   UK's 'Garden of Eden' takes root - 3rd October 2000
   In pictures: The Eden Project - 15th May 2000

BBC online - two main links:
   Gardener's World - 5 minute clip from this BBC programme about Eden
   Eighth wonder of the world! - story about Eden opening

The Independent (British newspaper):
   - Eden opening, 17th March 2001

The Washington Post (which is one of the few US papers I visited with free archives)
   England's Eden: Dome & Garden - a US reporter takes the red-eye to visit Eden
   - entertaining article, 1st April 2001

   ETFE: a lightweight alternative to glass - article about the material behind the biomes


The Times (London)
   You can Adam and Eve it - 31st March 2001 (Adam and Eve is slang for 'believe')
   Genesis of the garden - 14th March 2001
   Why I created Eden - 12th March 2001

   Largest freestanding scaffolding

The Guardian (British newspaper)
   It came from outer Cornwall - 12th March 2001
   Heavenly dome - 11th March 2001
   Heaven and earth in the new Eden - 21st October 2000
   And next he created Eden - 27th August 2000

This is Cornwall (collection of Cornish newspapers online)
   Butterflies' tropical home? - 9th March 2001
   Blair: Eden Project - 10th February 2000


Another project by Eden's creator, Tim Smit, is also close to St Austell.  That is the Lost Gardens of Heligan - gardens that became overgrown after the First World War that were carefully restored by many local groups and volunteers.  I believe that they are currently the most visited private gardens in England, and they were the subject of a
Channel 4 documentary, with books and videos available from the Channel 4 shop,
Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com - just search for "heligan".

If you fancy going to the cinema, then find out what's on in St Austell's 5 screen Film Centre on Virgin.net - if this link doesn't take you directly to a results page, then simply search for St Austell.  Failing that, telephone 01726 73750 to find out what's on (if the cinema's closed, the answering machine recording tells you what's on).



Places to visit slightly further afield

This obviously isn't going to be an exhaustive list, but what follows are a few places you might like to consider.

West Cornwall:

Flambards Village Theme Park offers various different attractions: rides and amusements from miniature golf to a roller coaster - many people visit for this part alone, plus a recreated Victorian street full of shop windows to gaze in, a Britain in the Blitz display, and the Aero park collection of ten classic military aircraft.  Flambards is near Helston, and there's 24hr info hotline: 01326 564 093.

The National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek is close by.  Their own site offers some nice pictures, and it's the cute seals that everyone goes to see after all, but this page gives a slightly more polished overview.  Always plan your visit so that you'll be there at feeding time, the staff throw the fish around so that visitors get to have a good look at the seals.  This is a sanctuary though, so don't expect seals that have been taught circus tricks, they are either their because they are recovering from illness or injury, and will be returned to the wild, or they are living their days out in peace.  The sanctuary is open every day except Christmas day, though the pools are outside, so don't go if the weather's too awful.

Goonhilly Earth Station - the largest satellite station on Earth, links the UK with the rest of the world.  They handle over 10 million international phone calls a week, and also handle television events such as the Olympic games, which they pass on to the BBC in London to transmit to the nation.  Goonhilly is on the Lizard Peninsular.

On the beautiful north coast, fans of modern art must visit the Tate St Ives - obviously a sister to the famous Tate Britain in London.  The collection is housed in a new building (well, built in 1993) which has beautiful views as it's built right next to the sea.  Do look out for the seagulls though if you're walking around in St Ives with any food in your hands, unless the council have managed to get them under control since I last visited, they have an off-putting habit of landing on your head and stealing your food as it's on the way to your mouth!



News, weather and what's on?

For a good portal to discover more about what's happening in Cornwall, try This is Cornwall.  The site is funded by the owners of the Cornish Guardian, The West Briton and The Cornishman, all popular papers which cover different parts of Cornwall.  So, expect up to date local news, weather, horoscopes etc etc.

To find out what's happening in the UK, BBC News Online is unsurpassed.  For in-depth weather information, the BBC's Weather Centre provides well illustrated weather forecasts - try typing St Austell into the search box on the right hand side, and get a detailed five day forecast.  On the national map and satellite pictures, remember that Cornwall is in the far SW of England, basically west of Plymouth.



Looking for people or businesses

For finding people or businesses, try searching the BT directory (people and businesses) or the Yellow Pages (businesses only, longer addresses than BT) or the
Thomson Local (businesses and link to people search).

If you're stuck with a fragment of an address (like just the house number and the postcode - some friends don't have very clear handwriting), or all of the address except the postcode (e.g. a St Austell postcode might start with PL25 or PL26) then the Royal Mail has the answer.  Use either their postcode or address finders.



How to travel around the country and region

St Austell is linked to the rest of the country by a good rail network.  For times and availability, go to Railtrack and follow the link to the timetable.  For fares and any other information, you will have to telephone National Rail enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 (this number from within British Isles only, try thetrainline.com for ticket information online).  I haven't found this service to be 100% reliable, so always make it very clear if you are hoping to travel on a weekday or on a Saturday or Sunday etc, and expect fares to vary according to the time of day on weekdays.  People using the trains early in the morning get charged more.

To find out which towns have railway stations, have a look at the route maps on the
Nation Rail site - this site also has lots of other useful rail information, e.g. current conditions and delays.

National Express is a reliable coach company which covers the whole country, use their website GoByCoach to plan your journey and book tickets online.  Expect coach journeys to take longer in general than train journeys, but to be cheaper.  I've travelled long-distance by both train and coach in the UK, and I prefer taking the train, when I can afford it.  The train can be prohibitively expensive though, and the coach is a useful option.  National Express coaches have always been fully air-conditioned in my experience, and also include a chemical toilet.  Due to safety regulations, long coach journeys always have rest stops where all the passengers get the chance to get off the coach to smoke, visit toilets and shops in the motorway services, these stops are factored into the journey times.  Expect all food on trains, coaches, in service stations etc to be overpriced, they know they have a captive audience.  There's nothing to stop you taking your own food and drinks aboard.  Be warned that although trains with a buffet car are licensed to sell alcohol, coaches generally don't permit you to carry alcohol with you unless it's kept underneath the coach with your luggage.

Both the AA (The Automobile Association) and the RAC (Royal Automobile Club) have a very usefu route planners for planning car journeys around the country (actually covers Britain, Ireland and Continental Europe).  Providing clear directions, with an option to see them illustrated on a map.

For other online maps, Streetmap.co.uk and Multimap.co.uk will provide you maps of varying detail, the most detailed being their street maps (for a St Austell street map, try searching for PL25 under the postcode option).  I find online maps are only of limited value though, and nothing can beat a good road atlas to keep in your car.  Get a good road map (try searching for "britain road atlas" at amazon.co.uk for example) if you are planning to do a lot of travelling by car in the UK.

Although this won't help you plan routes around the country, it's an interesting site, which I thought you might enjoy.  Getmapping.com is the online home of the Millennium Map (TM) - aerial photographs taken of the whole of Britain.  At the moment you can view most of England, and parts of Wales online.  The pictures available on their website are detailed and of good quality (try searching for PL25 to see St Austell), and you can buy any views that you like (they will be of a higher, photographic quality).  Also available to buy, are Domesday certificates for areas mentioned in that book.



General information about Britain

Find out about Britain from your own country's point of view through the network of British Embassies (as listed on Yahoo).  They generally include information about British laws, visas, current events in Britain that might affect you, etc, etc.


Accommodation in and around St Austell

For comprehensive accommodation information, I recommend going straight to the St Austell Tourist Information Centre - download their lists of local accommodation, suitable for every budget.  Book in advance and enjoy your stay in the area.

Please note that I own the copyright to every image on this website, you can contact me here for further information.