10 Eco attractions

COUNTRY LIFE picks the best ten eco-attractions in the country, from Edinburgh to Cornwall.

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beach
(Image credit: Paul Wakefield)

The Eden project

A symbol of regeneration, ecological awareness and sustainable development. Built in a derelict clay pit, its giant biomes and other habitats contain more than a million plants

www.edenproject.comGibson Mill, West Yorkshire

An old cotton mill in a wooded valley, converted to be 100% self-sufficient using solar and hydro power

www.nationaltrust.org.ukKew Gardens

This famous London garden also runs seed conservation projects and is a referral point for plant conservation around the world

www.kew.orgKynance Cove, The Lizard, Cornwall

National Trust-run solar-powered beach cafe, on the coast of one of the loveliest parts of Cornwall. The cafe walls are insulated with sheep's wool and the lavatories have their own biological sewage-treatment system

www.nationaltrust.org.ukLondon Wetland Centre

About 100 acres in the heart of the capital, designated a site of Special Scientific Interest, it supports gadwell and shoveler ducks, as well as a diverse range of other wildlife

www.wwt.org.uk/visit/wetlandcentreNagshead, Gloucestershire

A woodland reserve, famous for breeding pied flycatchers, which has a solar powered, zero-energy education centre, and uses a solar-powered electric fence to control stock on the reserve

www.rspb.org.ukRHS Garden Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire

Run as a low-intervention garden, using as few chemicals as possible, pests are kept at bay by 'integrated pest management' (encouraging natural predation by aphids, rather than using pesticides) and the gardeners are increasingly planting drought-resistant plants

www.rhs.org.ukRoyal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Beautiful Edinburgh gardens, and scientific centre for the study of diversity and conservation of plants

www.rbge.org.ukScience Museum, London

Has an interactive gallery dedicated to energy and displays on the science of weather and climate change

www.science museum.org.ukYorkshire Sculpture Park

As well as works by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and James Turrell, enjoy Andy Goldsworthy's new installations?ecological art made from thorns, stones, snow and even human hair (on show until January 6, 2008)?set in 500 acres of 18th-century parkland.

www.ysp.co.uk

Country Life

Bringing the quintessential English rural idle to life via interiors, food and drink, property and more Country Life’s travel content offers a window into the stunning scenery, imposing stately homes and quaint villages which make the UK’s countryside some of the most visited in the world.