The year 2021 began the same way that 2020 ended, with a national lockdown due to the surge in virus cases over the winter period. That meant that I couldn’t go anywhere further than Burton on Trent, but that didn’t mean the blog stopped. I had a look back at some bygone travels, and also had a few local trips out when I was allowed to in March. I also had a look at some more local landmarks in Burton, including the Coltman VC Peace Wood in Winshill.
January 2021
The first post of the year was a look back at my 2016 trip to York, where I walked on part of the city walls and visited the National Railway Museum.
The second and final post of January was another step back in time, this time to the end of January 2018, when I had my first trip up to Tutbury and Hatton on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border. I had a look around the railway station, a stroll around the village of Tutbury, and also saw a peacock.
February 2021
The nation was still locked up in February, so I fired up the DeLorean again and went back in time to 1988, when I visited Edinburgh for the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibition in the spring, and then went to Glasgow in the summer for the 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival.
Later on in the month, I had a look back at the various football grounds that have existed in Burton on Trent over the years, and the fate of the football clubs which played in them prior to the formation of the town’s current team Burton Albion in 1950.
March 2021
Lockdown restrictions were eased a little in March 2021, so I was able to go out to some places near Burton. The first post of the month was another trip back in time to the early 1990s, and a look back at the now-demolished American Adventure theme park near Ilkeston in Derbyshire.
Rolleston-on-Dove was the location for my first trip out of Burton this year. It is a few miles walk from Burton, to the north of the town. While I was there, I went to Brook Hollows to see the waterfall, saw a few of the historic old buildings in the village, and finished off by walking the Jinnie Nature Trail back to Stretton.
On a sunny but freezing cold Saturday morning at the end of March, I took an early morning walk up to Coltman VC Peace Wood in Winshill, just off Mill Hill Lane. It is dedicated to local hero William Coltman, who was awarded the prestigious Victoria Cross for his bravery in the First World War. A devout Christian, he refused to bear arms in the conflict and worked as a stretcher bearer. During a battle, he found three wounded soldiers and carried them to safety, risking his own life.
In typical British weather custom, the weather changed from cold and frosty to hot and sunny in a few days. I ended March 2021 at Branston Water Park in Branston. The water park is a former gravel pit which was left to return to nature when the pit closed in the 1950s. It is now a major tourist attraction in the area, with a visitors centre and café on site.
Thanks very much for reading this. Part two, covering April to June, will be out next week. If you would like to follow the blog on all the best social media platforms, then all the links you need are here.
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