AN impressive range of vintage and working tractors turned up for the Lawhitton Tractor Road Run on Sunday, October 23.
Tractor owners and enthusiasts travelled from as far as Bere Alston and Tavistock in order to join this annual road run, in aid of the Lawhitton Villlage Hall. Twenty-five tractors gathered at 10am in the village hall’s car park before undertaking a 29-mile journey around the back lanes of Cornwall.
Those present were able to stock up on fuel in the form of bacon sandwiches and cups of tea and coffee before their charity tractor run began.
Participating in the run were vintage tractors including Massey Fergusons, a David Brown 885 and the favourite of the day, a 1947 Minneapolis Moline, owned by David Mounce. A few people tagged along during the run in a trailer attached to one tractor and another lady sat in a seat attached to a back loader on a Massey Ferguson.
Organiser of the event Bill Bernard said: “The tractor run was raising money for the Lawhitton Hall. We managed to collect £353, which is great and on par with what we usually get each year. The money will go towards repairs and general maintenance needed at the hall.”
The variety of vintage tractors followed in convoy along the back lanes of Cornwall, trying their best to stay off the main roads, as Mr Bernard said: “Twenty-five tractors are bound to cause a hold up, which would be of some annoyance to motorists, so we try our best to stick to the back lanes. We covered around 29 miles and it was nearly 2 o’clock by the time we returned.”
Once the tractors, and their owners, had returned they were treated to a pasty lunch before presentations were made.
The winner of the ‘best tractor’ went to everyone’s favourite, the 1947 Minneapolis Moline. Although there had been some issues with it early on in the run, with the petrol having to be replaced after it had gone stale, David and his Minneapolis Moline were up and ready to continuing, finishing the run with everybody else. All involved had a great time and the money raised will now be put towards helping maintain Lawhitton’s Village Hall.