Cabilla Cornwall is home to a rare Temperate Rainforest and a diverse range of plant species, such as air-purifying lichens. It is also an official ancient oak woodland – defined as ‘an area of land where there has been a continuous cover of trees since 1600’, which currently makes up only 2% of British woodland.
Temperate Rainforests are our richest most complex terrestrial habitat in the UK.
Temperate rainforests and ancient woodlands are home to more biodiversity and threatened species than any other. Centuries of undisturbed soils and accumulated decaying wood have created the perfect place for communities of fungi and invertebrates to thrive – plus, other specialist species of insects, birds, and mammals strongly rely on them for survival. Our aim is to nurture our rare Temperate Rainforest ecosystem with thoughtfulness and care, protecting it for the next thousand years, creating a model ecosystem from which others can learn.
Rarer than tropical rainforest, temperate rainforest is found in few locations around our world. It has global conservation significance supporting a rich and diverse array of life including many rare species. Often also called Atlantic Forest, this unique and rich habitat is the result of mild winter temperatures, warm summers and, of course, lots of rain.
It’s hard to find woodland in the UK that hasn’t been cut down at some point in the last few hundred years and regrown. Our ancient oak woodland is extremely rare, as it has been left to its own devices for at least 1,000 years. The fungus beneath the soil, the many species of moss on the rocks and the rich canopy of lichen are part of an abundant biodiversity that has taken centuries to develop, proving that these woods are as old as the valley that they sit in. The lack of interference also means that our trees are all related to one another — their roots and branches intertwine and they can ‘speak’ to each other through the mycelial ‘Wood Wide Web’ — you won’t find a better example in southwest England.
We operate a 100% organic, permaculture garden which supplies healthy food for retreats at Cabilla. Using natural and time-honoured techniques, we want to showcase how growing and gardening can be enjoyed by everyone whether you have a small garden, allotment or just a box on your windowsill! As well as feeding us, we grow a diverse range of forage for rare and essential local pollinators, and regularly donate food gluts to the local community.
Isn’t it a rare thing in the British Isles to find river water so pure you can swim in it, let alone drink from? This sad state of affairs is due to mismanagement of our waterways, industrial pollution, and dare we say it, lack of ecosystem engineers like beavers! But here at Cabilla, the river Bedalder that flows through the bottom of our valley is one of the purest rivers in the UK, with the source just half a mile north of us and no industrial farming, animal agriculture or runoff in between. Bedalder is a Cornish word meaning ‘sweet water,’ and you’ll understand why when you take a paddle!
Quite quickly into a visit to Cabilla you’ll spot a lot of exciting work happening. That’s because our neighbours are the UK’s primary temperate rainforest research charity, The Thousand Year Trust, who are on a mission to revive and restore large patches of temperate rainforest across Cornwall and beyond. We work closely with the Thousand Year Trust on the management and protection of our interconnected forests, and are already holding exciting conversations about the re-introduction of keystone species such as pine martens, wildcats, beavers and more!
