Green Futures

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Packed up Cornwall with an unexpected slug-chasing session, then visited the Eden Project's massive biome domes before traffic detours led us through the Exe valley to Exmoor, where hundreds of ring-necked pheasants turned a motorway routing mishap into an ornithological windfall. A day of transitions—from the dramatic coastal mining landscapes of Cornwall back to the gentler countryside around Thornbury, with a detour through visions of possible green futures at Eden.

From Mining Past to Sustainable Futures

September 19, 2025

Packed up to leave Cornwall this morning. While waiting for final preparations, we found ourselves chasing several slugs around the front yard—not exactly the kind of wildlife photography I expected to be doing, but strangely entertaining.

Bridge in the Tropics dome
at the Eden Project
Our major stop was the Eden Project, which is essentially a massive botanical garden featuring several enormous domes housing different biomes—currently tropical and Mediterranean environments. The scale is impressive, and the execution is excellent. Given that this is fundamentally a botanical garden, expect to see quite a few flower and plant photos mixed in with the industrial heritage shots in my image collection.

The journey back to Thornbury turned into an adventure of circuitous routes. Accidents and slowdowns on the motorway forced us onto more indirect paths, which took considerably longer but proved unexpectedly interesting. One road led us through the Exe valley up to Exmoor, where we encountered an amazing population of ring-necked pheasants. You see them occasionally in Oregon, but there were hundreds here—a reminder that what's exotic in one place can be commonplace in another.

Arriving in Thornbury, we met a couple of Ian and Emma's theater friends who also live in the Cornwall area. Good people, and it's been enjoyable getting to know them.

A day of transitions—from the dramatic coastal mining landscapes of Cornwall back to the gentler countryside around Thornbury, with a detour through visions of possible green futures at Eden. The contrast between documenting the remnants of the Industrial Revolution and exploring what sustainable technology might look like couldn't be more striking.

Pictures can be found here: https://beloretrato0.picflow.com/d43bka91mw/1iyn334m1a

Location: Thornbury, UK

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