About the trentlings
Meet the Trentlings, a family of magical creatures hidden around The Washlands in Burton upon Trent. Each character is inspired by the town’s nature, history and legends, brought to life through augmented reality and collectible trading cards.
From Trentor, guardian of the river and holder of the top Burton Points score, to Modwen, keeper of old stories, every Trentling has its own personality, stats and place in Burton’s story.
Whether you take part in the Trentlings trail or challenge your friends to a friendly card game, these 12 characters, rooted in Burtons heritage, are sure to entertain the whole family.
How to play
Trail
Open the Discover East Staffordshire Trail App and select the Trentling Trail. Follow the trail around The Washlands, learn the history, take the quiz and take a selfie with your new friend. Don’t forget to tag us #Trentlings #UponItAll
Trading Cards
Coming soon
Discover the Trentlings Trail on the App
Download the Discover East Staffordshire Trails App and explore walking, cycling and heritage trails across East Staffordshire, featuring scenic routes, local treasures, and trails for every ability.
Discover the characters below
Alaburton
Stone Spirit
Burton Points:
Burton’s alabaster industry was nationally significant, supplying churches and abbeys across England. Alaburton also guards the hidden remains of St Andrew’s Chapel beneath Andresey Isle, giving it a layered heritage score.
Ancient, solitary, and underground. A guardian rather than a companion. The least outwardly friendly character.
Scores maximum 10 alongside Modwen. Alaburton holds the oldest knowledge in the set, predating recorded history and standing guard over hidden medieval remains.
Lives deep underground in ancient stone and cool water, guards a vanished chapel. Powerfully mysterious and otherworldly.
Periodically surfaces to check on St Modwen’s Church, showing a quiet watchfulness and interest in the world above.
Scores maximum 10 alongside Modwen. Alaburton holds the oldest knowledge in the set, predating recorded history and standing guard over hidden medieval remains.
Calendula
Wildflower
Burton Points:
Linked to the riverside landscape and wayfinding around the library flood zone. Its role as a guide spirit echoes Burton’s historic travel routes, but lacks the deep industrial or heritage roots of higher-scoring characters.
Described as bringing sunshine and helping lost travellers find their way home. Warm and helpful by nature.
Knows enough to guide travellers and understands the town’s flood management, but is not a deeply historical character.
Has a gentle magical quality as a floating, pollen-scattering guide spirit. Not as otherworldly as Modwen or Alaburton.
Drawn to the spot specifically to observe landmarks and guide others, showing active interest in its surroundings.
Glides on warm breezes and scatters pollen, suggesting steady, moderate movement.
Cottono
Cotton Plant
Burton Points:
Directly linked to Burton’s cotton mill history over 200 years ago. A meaningful industrial heritage connection, though cotton is less synonymous with Burton’s identity than hops or brewing.
Brings comfort and wraps plants and animals to keep them warm. A nurturing, gentle character.
Carries knowledge of Burton’s industrial past and the wetland ecosystem it now inhabits.
Soft and fluffy like a cloud, with a gentle otherworldly quality, though grounded in natural and industrial reality.
Loves to look out over its watery world and observe the wetland life around it.
Drifts rather than moves with purpose. A calm, low-energy presence.
Wheator
Grain Spirit
Burton Points:
Tied to both the cotton and flour mill history at the same riverside location, giving it a layered industrial heritage score. The bridge crossing it favours has been an important route for hundreds of years.
Warm and straightforward, loves sunny days and open spaces. Pleasant but not especially outgoing.
Carries knowledge of both the cotton and flour milling eras, and understands the historic importance of the bridge crossing.
A grounded, golden field spirit. Appealing but not mysterious or mythical.
Interested in crossing points and river features, but not described as especially inquisitive.
Sways gently in sunshine. A calm, moderate energy level.
Glaucua
Grassland Spirit
Burton Points:
Found on a riverside path with mysterious stone arches of unknown origin. The heritage connection is real but uncertain, which both adds intrigue and limits the Burton Points score.
Quietly independent. Likes open spaces and solitude more than company, though not unfriendly.
Deeply curious about the past. The unexplained arches make it a repository of unanswered historical questions.
The unknown stone arches and hidden hillside path give Glaucua a distinctly mysterious quality.
Scores maximum 10. The text explicitly states the unexplained arches make Glaucua ‘very curious indeed’.
Shimmers and sways but doesn’t travel far. A still, contemplative energy.
Trentor
River Creature
Burton Points:
The highest score in the set. The River Trent is not just a heritage feature among others, it is the foundation every other Trentling’s story depends on, from the church’s site to the mills, the wharf, and the alabaster trade. Trentor, as the river’s own creature, personifies that foundation and scores the maximum 100.
Keeps watch and guards the river, warm enough but focused on its duties rather than socialising.
Remembers when the river was a busy trade route and has watched it slowly change course over centuries.
Well camouflaged, ancient, and tied to the ever-shifting nature of a living river. Strongly otherworldly.
Notices changes in the river and finds the wishing well’s reuse of old stone ‘very clever’.
Glides with swishes and swirls through the current. An active, fluid presence.
Daisy
Meadow Spirit
Burton Points:
Daisy is a generic meadow and pollinator spirit with the weakest direct link to Burton’s specific heritage. Its location is a pleasant riverside green space rather than a historically significant site.
Scores maximum 10. The text says Daisy ‘makes the world feel a little brighter’ wherever it goes. The most outwardly warm character in the set.
A cheerful, present-focused character with little connection to history or place knowledge.
Bright and uplifting but firmly rooted in the everyday natural world. Low mystery quotient.
Playful and active, but its attention is on fun and pollinating rather than exploration or discovery.
Constantly flitting and fluttering. One of the highest energy characters in the set.
Heuchera
Shade Plant
Burton Points:
Now placed on the higher path beside St Peter’s Church, with a direct tie to a church built over 140 years ago, standing on a site with an earlier church dating back over 700 years. This heritage anchor lifts Heuchera above its original riverside-only score.
Calm and quietly strong. Not especially outgoing, but a reassuring, stable presence.
Now carries real historical knowledge of St Peter’s Church and the older church on the same site over 700 years ago, a significant increase from the original riverbank-only telling.
Leaves that change colour throughout the year give it a subtle magical quality, but it is grounded and domestic.
Notices and wonders about the steep bank and tall trees, and reflects on the effort it must have taken to build such a grand church.
Still and rooted. The second lowest energy score after Alaburton.
Geranafin
Garden Spirit
Burton Points:
Associated with an old vicarage gateway, a footbridge crossing, and floral displays near a busy route. A modest heritage connection with community significance.
Brings colour and happiness wherever it goes. Loves people passing by. One of the warmest characters.
Recognises and appreciates the old brick gateway as a piece of local history standing on its own.
Cheerful and colourful but not mysterious. More joyful than magical.
Interested in what people can see from the top of the footbridge. Engaged with its surroundings.
Active and present in a busy crossing point. Moderate to good energy.
Mariglo
Garden Spirit
Burton Points:
The gardens were once part of the grand Stapenhill House estate, now opened for public enjoyment. A meaningful heritage and community story with a lasting legacy.
Loves children playing, gardeners planting, and colourful petals dancing. One of the most community-oriented characters.
Aware of the Stapenhill House history and the story of the swan statue built by local gardeners.
The swan statue and the idea of a grand house transformed into a public garden gives Mariglo a slightly romantic, magical quality.
Scampers around paths and peeps out from flowers, always watching and exploring.
Scampering and watching. Active and lively within its garden setting.
Hopleaf
Hop Plant
Burton Points:
Hops and brewing are the single most defining element of Burton upon Trent’s global identity. Hopleaf scores 92, second only to Modwen, for its direct embodiment of this heritage. Soho Wharf adds a specific industrial history layer.
Hardworking and purposeful. Warm enough, but driven by its important journey rather than by social warmth.
Understands the full supply chain of Burton’s brewing industry, from hop fields to the wharf, and the shift from river to rail transport.
A working plant on an important industrial journey. More grounded than magical, though its transformation into beer carries a subtle alchemy.
Interested in the hidden pillbox nearby, showing an eye for discovery.
Climbs high, travels by boat and train, arrives at a busy wharf. One of the highest energy scores.
Modwen
Water Spirit
Burton Points:
St Modwen is the founding spiritual figure of Burton upon Trent. The town’s name, its oldest church, and centuries of pilgrimage are tied to her. The highest Burton Points score in the set.
Kind and special by legendary reputation. Watchful and caring rather than outgoing.
Scores maximum 10. Modwen carries the deepest historical knowledge in the set, stretching back to Burton’s earliest origins.
Scores maximum 10. A holy figure with a healing well, pilgrims travelling from far away, and a hidden sculpture watching over the washlands.
More of a guardian than an explorer. Steady and watchful rather than inquisitive.
Glides quietly. A still, calm, watchful presence with low movement energy.
Discover the Trentlings Trail on the App
Download the Discover East Staffordshire Trails App and explore walking, cycling and heritage trails across East Staffordshire, featuring scenic routes, local treasures, and trails for every ability.
