The Mysterious Coin-Covered Wishing Trees of Britain

The strange phenomenon of gnarled old trees with coins embedded all over their bark has been spotted on trails from the Peak District to the Scottish Highlands. The coins are usually knocked into felled tree trunks using stones by passers-by, who hope it will bring them good fortune. These fascinating spectacles often have coins from centuries ago buried deep in their bark and warped by the passage of time. 

The tradition of making offerings to deities at wishing trees dates back hundreds of years, but this combination of the man-made and the natural is far more rare. It used to be believed that divine spirits lived in trees, and they were often festooned with sweets and gifts. There are seven felled tree trunks with coins pushed into them in the picturesque village of Portmeirion, in Wales. 

Meurig Jones, an estate manager at the tourist destination, told the BBC: 'We had no idea why it was being done when we first noticed the tree trunk was being filled with coins. I did some detective work and discovered that trees were sometimes used as "wishing trees". 

He said that a sick person could press a coin into a tree and their illness would go away. 'If someone then takes the coin out though, it's said they then become ill.'