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During the production of the first and second editions of the Heritage Trees of Scotland, the authors and photographers recorded trees that were alive when the project started in 2000 but are now deceased.
One of these trees - the Wishing Tree of Argyll - was a lone, wind-blasted hawthorn growing in the wilds of Argyll. It was one of the few known ‘wishing trees’ in Scotland and was encrusted with coins that had been pressed into the thin bark by generations of superstitious travelers over the centuries, each coin representing a wish.
A substantial cash horde
It had undoubtedly been revered as a special tree for many years, as its substantial hoard of cash testified. The image on the right shows a details of coins embedded into the trunk.
When the original edition of Heritage Trees of Scotland was published in 2003, the tree had unfortunately succumbed to its harsh environment and was lying prone within its enclosure. Since then the tree has died, although its remains can still be seen.
Images: copyright Edward Parker
