Money really does grow on trees!

I am sure you are all puzzling at the title of this, and I will come to that in a minute! Andrew and I have just returned from an H.F. Classic Walking Short Break in the Peak District, based at the H.F.Country House, Newton house at Dovedale.
We arrived on Monday, 7th July, and after our welcoming afternoon tea, some of us took a short walk along the Tissington Trail (a former Railway Line which was closed down by Beeching in the 1960's which runs directly behind the H.F.Centre.) as far as Alsop en le Dale. In that short space of time, we gained some new and exciting insights into nature from Chris, who was leading the walking and Tai Chi section. He explained to us about the genetics of stripy snails, and we learnt that Ragwort is one of the deadliest wild flowers around!
Our first official walk took us through Dovedale itself, and we saw rock formations such as the Tissington Spires, Raynards Cave and Lover's Leap. It was here that we found an area where money DOES grow on trees! There are a number of tree stumps along this stretch, known as money trees, the reason being, that over the last 45 years, (in fact all the time I've been alive!) People have hammered coins into the stumps! Nobody knows who or why it started.
The second day, bad weather was forecast, with severe warnings all over the rest of Britain, though we were the lucky ones! We went along the gritstone edges of Froggatt, Curbar and Baslow, and saw many spectacular views. We looked down on the building that was used as Colditz Castle, and which has now been converted into posh flats! We also saw Wellington's monument (one of a number in the British Isles) and passed through the grounds of Chatsworth House, where it was fun to watch school teachers trying to quell their mobs of children, and stop the boys from going in the ladies' toilets! We saw Deer in abundance in the nearby Deer Park, and we got lost at Edensor. Outside the church was a man in a dog collar, so Brian, our leader asked him for directions. The reply was, "well, I'm not actually the vicar, but I think i know the path you want". Our day ended in Bakewell, and rather than sample the real Bakewell Puddings, Andrew and I sampled one of the pubs, and it was only as we were heading to the coach, that the heavens opened big time!
Our third and final day started at Chich, once famous as "Cardale" in the original "Peak Practice". Here, we watched the trams go by, from the National Tramway Museum, and we admired the view from the top of the Sherwood Foresters Memorial. We passed Riber Castle and gradually made our way (Wading through a deep puddle at one point!) down to the Cromford Canal towpath where the day ended for us two, with a cup of coffee at Cromford Wharf.
Finally, came our last dinner and Final Fling, where it was our turn to entertain the leaders and join in the dancing, before we hit our pillows in readiness for our return journey!