Painting The Mother Tree at Cabilla Cornwall

I’m Imogen, watercolour illustrator and stories enthusiast. This beautiful specimen is part of the mother tree in the temperate rainforest at Cabilla Cornwall

In December I listened to Merlin Hanbury-Tenison on the Oxygen Conservation podcast, ‘Shoot Room Sessions’ talking about Cabilla Cornwall as I was driving home one day. All I could think was that I HAD to visit. I wasn't sure how but was already trying to think up scenarios to orchestrate a trip to Cornwall (from the south east of England)

I sent Merlin a message to say I loved the conversation and was really inspired (because that's what I do, I really believe in telling people when they are doing things you love and am always so grateful for podcasters sharing free conversations for others to benefit from). 

Later that day an email arrived in my inbox and I had won a Muddy Stilettos competition (which I had forgotten I entered because I don’t usually enter their competitions) and two spaces on a retreat. The retreat was a collaboration between THE PIG Hotel and Cabilla Cornwall, and would be visiting Cabilla.

It wasn't, and in January, the week after I left my job to focus on my illustration business, I visited Cabilla with the most wonderful group of people and my brilliant friend and it was MAGICAL.

I find it hard to articulate, because for some reason this place just had such an instant emotional connection with me. A feeling that I felt when I heard the podcast, and intensified when I stepped into Cabilla and more so when I walked through the quietly magnificent temperate rainforest.

Our brilliant guide Izzy was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Her passion and energy radiated from her as she guided us across the fields and down into the rainforest, telling us stories about the magic that they hold within their land. This was layered with the inspiring and moving stories from Lizzie and Pippa, who looked after us beautifully on our retreat, and Merlin’s father Robin Hanbury-Tenison who we were fortunate to meet at dinner the evening before. It was a real privilege to gain such an insight into their world. 

I'm not sure if it was the way the forest reminded me of childhood spent in my Grandparents woods, climbing, exploring, building dams and dens amongst the mosses and lichens. Or if it was the experience of the retreat itself and the serendipitous circumstances that brought me to it. Or if it was in fact Merlin and Lizzie themselves, creating that feeling, a place that stirs emotion and gives life in a way that is almost impossible to describe.

Whatever it was, it's a place that has had a profound impact on me after just one visit. I could have stayed forever, looking, wondering, drawing, painting, just being. After returning and feeling compelled to capture even a small piece of that feeling through my illustration of the mother tree.

I am detail oriented and driven by stories in my illustration work, and this was everything I experienced. At a glance, to many people a tree may look like a tree, but they are living breathing beings with stories to tell, relationships, families, lives. They are connected, not separate, they communicate, share their homes and become homes. An oak tree can host up to six hundred species and this supportive communal ecosystem of life was such a fountain of beauty and inspiration to me. 

It is incredibly sad how these ancient temperate rainforests are one of the most biodiverse habitats in the UK, but almost all of which has been destroyed… by us. Thankfully this is now being recognised and restored in many places including Cabilla.

Lizzie and Merlin have set up The Thousand Year Trust looking forward, taking a long term approach to dramatically change this and bring back more of this lost habitat. You can read more about it here and the amazing research being undertaken to understand more about the importance of these magical places and how to safeguard their future. 

If you are anywhere near Cornwall, no, if you are anywhere in the world, I urge you to seek out Cabilla, listen to Lizzie and Merlin and learn more about the magic that is around us and how to restore and preserve it.