| Where: | Countrywide including Sedgefield in County Durham, starting & finishing at Hardwick Hall Country Park and North Tyne ending at Hexham Mart |
| When: | Usually a weekend mid December - Sedgefield on a Sunday mid month, North Tyne on a Friday early in month |
| Time: | After dark- times vary but Sedegfield starts at 4 pm and North Tyne gets to Hexham around 7 pm |
This is a modern tradition of a convoy of brightly decorated tractors and/or trucks making its way through a series of towns and villages spreading Christmas cheer and festivity through the dark weekends just before the big day. They’ll be noisy, well lit and festooned with decorations, and are very popular with young families. I’ve found references to them all over the UK, from Cornwall to Shetland and from the Welsh coast to East Anglia and they are naturally most popular in agricultural areas with a goodly supply of vehicles. They seem to be becoming more widespread, and usually have a bucket collection for a local good cause. At Sedgefield in County Durham there are literally dozens of tractors in the run, which starts at a country park and passes through a number of settlements in the district, taking roughly an hour and a half to complete. In Northumberland, there’s a Festive Truck Run from the North Tyne to Hexham which in the year I went had 170 vehicles taking part, finishing at the Mart.
Helpful Hints
I’ve used the Sedgefield event as a good example of one fairly local to me, which is well established and likely to happen regularly. It’s organised by the local Young Farmers club and takes place late in the afternoon in mid December, with the route appearing on their Facebook page well in advance. In 2024 it should be on Sunday December 15th.
North Tyne Truck Run is on a Friday in early December- in 2024 it was on Friday 6th. 2025 date is yet to be announced.
Photos are of Sedgefield Tractor Run and Hexham North Tyne Festive Truck Run.
Click here for the Sedgefield Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sedgieyfc
Click here for more examples on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=festive%20tractor%20run%20uk
and here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/tractorrun (this one features many events in Ireland, which is outside the scope of CalendarCustoms, but also includes many around England, Scotland and Wales)
Click here for the North Tyne Truck Run: https://www.facebook.com/northtynechristmastruckrun/
It’s tricky to get a good photo as it’s after dark and the tractors and trucks are moving so apologies for the picture quality!
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