Festive tractor runs raise spirits and funds for charity
Hundreds of farmers took part in tractor runs to raise spirits in the community and raise important donations for charity ahead of Christmas.
The largest tractor run took place in Welshpool, Powys where 210 lighted vehicles paraded through the town on Sunday 11th December.
The run benefiting rural charity Addington Fund was in its second year and saw twice as many participants.
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Powys Annual Charity Events (Pace) organizer Jenny Clarke said the turnout was incredible. Participants traveled from as far away as North Yorkshire and the Midlands and met at the Welshpool Livestock Market in the afternoon.
© Welshpool Illuminated Christmas Tractor Run 2022
The public was able to get a close look at the tractors before the procession set out on a 30-mile route through surrounding towns and villages.
Impressive tractor parade in Welshpool tonight with over 200 tractors taking part in support of the@AddingtonFundWith@RVtractors pic.twitter.com/T3GkAqLA9Z
— Bill Young (@billyoungnsch) December 11, 2022
Tractor types ranged from a 46 year old David Brown 995 to a huge JCB 8000 Series Fastrac which drew large crowds onto Welshpool’s main street at the conclusion.
According to Ms Clarke, donations to the Addington Fund are still being tallied, but it is already known that the total will be in the thousands.
Runs take place nationwide
Another large gathering of lighted vehicles was also held in Lancashire on Sunday for the Clitheroe Young Farmers’ Club’s annual Christmas Tractor Run. The event is expected to surpass the £5,000 target for donations to Cancer Research UK and the YFC.
© Clitheroe YFC
Despite snow conditions, more than 130 tractors were at the start. Festively decorated and lighted vehicles drove through the Ribble Valley, attracting more than 2,500 people.
In Dorset, nearly 100 tractors took part in an annual celebratory run to raise funds for the Will Does charity. The charity was established in memory of local teenager William Paddy, who took his own life in May 2019 aged just 14.
A drone view of the Clitheroe cluster © Jonathan Thomson Aerial Photography
All funds are used to support the charity’s mission of promoting social inclusion, mental wellbeing and physical health. Participants were asked to donate £10 before embarking on the two and a half hour journey through 11 towns and villages.
Meanwhile, the villages around Bridgnorth in Shropshire saw the return of a celebratory tractor run in aid of Hope House Children’s Hospices. The tractors met at Bridgnorth Cattle Market on Sunday, before heading out of the city to surrounding villages at nightfall.
The run was organized by 18-year-old Tom Wellings, who launched the event in December last year and raised £3,700 for Cancer Research UK.
Farmers gear up for more Christmas tractor runs
A second tractor run in the Shropshire/Powys area is also taking place on December 23rd in aid of Hope House children’s hospice.
Organizers Brian Jones, Sophie Mottershead, Wendy Jones and Carys Studley raised thousands for charity with the first run in 2021. Mr Jones said the 2021 run was put together in just eight days but has garnered huge support.
He said the 2022 event would be bigger and better, starting at 6pm from the Hanmer Junction on the A525 and A539. Updates on Brian’s Christmas Tractor Run will be posted on Facebook.
An inner-city tractor run is also planned in North West England. Merseyside arable farmer and YouTube blogger Olly Harrison has organized a celebratory Farmers Tractor Run which will run through central Liverpool and its outskirts.
The event will take place on the evening of December 18 with approximate times between 6pm and 9pm, according to Mr Harrison’s #OllyBlogs webpage.
