| Where: | Countrywide including Sedgefield in County Durham, starting & finishing at Hardwick Hall Country Park |
| When: | Usually a weekend mid December |
| Time: | After dark- times vary but Sedegfield starts at 4 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.
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 2023 it was on Sunday December 17th- 2024 date is yet to be announced but likely to be 15th.
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)
It’s tricky to get a good photo as it’s after dark and the tractors are moving so apologies for the picture quality!
