In Our Oaken Bones, Merlin Hanbury-Tenison tells the powerful true story of returning to his roots as he and his wife Lizzie leave behind their city life to begin anew on a remote hill farm in the heart of Cornwall’s Bodmin Moor.

Reeling from personal loss and the psychological wounds of military service, Merlin seeks solace in the land that shaped him. What he finds is more than just a place of childhood memory. Hidden within the worn pastures and crumbling woodland of Cabilla Farm lies one of Britain’s last surviving fragments of Atlantic temperate rainforest, a rare, ancient ecosystem teetering on the edge of disappearance.

This deeply personal nature memoir is an ode to the healing power of rewilding, the profound bond between people and place, and the urgent need to protect and regenerate our native woodlands. As the mosses thrive beneath their feet and oak leaves dance above their heads, Merlin and Lizzie discover that healing the land can also heal the soul.

Ideal for fans of The Salt Path, Wilding, and The Lost Rainforests of Britain, Our Oaken Bones is both a call to ecological action and a tender reflection on resilience, belonging, and the ancient magic held within Britain’s forgotten rainforests.