Cabilla

Ever since I first read about Merlin Hanbury-Tenison, his book Our Oaken Bones, and his project to restore the temperate rainforest around his family home in Cornwall, I have wanted to visit. Merlin generously welcomed me this week, spending an hour showing me around before leaving me to explore for the rest of the day.

I have a suspicion that knowing I was a journalist, he thought I might be useful. But he was kind beyond that and we got on well during the tour.

His book is very good: a moving story, a powerful message, and a lot of detail about this rare habitat.

The woodland is glorious and I had a wonderful day. I also spoke with some trees, but I might share that another day as I am so behind with everything that I feel a tad rushed.

The surveys they have done (testing the peat core) demonstrate that there has been continuous woodland on this site for nearly 4000 years, which is astonishing. He says that the soil in even a 300 year old wood lacks the fungal connections which turn a group of trees into one entangled being.

They have nine species of bat at Cabilla - and have reintroduced beavers (Sigourney Beaver, Jean Claude Van Dam and the babies Beavie Wonder and Beavie Nix!!)

Merlin has a huge tattoo of his favourite tree across his back.

The river, the Bedalder - which means clear stream, I think - glitters with purity.

It is a wonderful place - and I can well image how healing the retreats for veterans, medical professionals and corporate types are.

A special day in a special place.