Group of farming friends raise funds for Air Ambulance with ‘Tractor Run’

A group of farming friends have raised over £2,000 for Wales Air Ambulance by travelling across North Wales in their tractors.

The group, pictured above left to right, consist of Dafydd Humphreys, Gwynfor Rowlands, David Pritchard, Simon Millichamp and Glyn Williams.

The run, which was completed last month, had the group aiming to drive to Tywyn via Sarn and Llanbedr, back up to Dolgellau and cross over to Ruthin via Bala.

Their plans on returning to Penysarn via Llanrwst and Betws y Coed were however disrupted due to Conwy being in lockdown, so they had to scrap the idea of going from Ruthin to Llanrwst.

The final leg of the journey saw the men ride through Cerrigydrudion following the A5 back home to Ynys Môn.

The group took to the road in a variety of tractors – pictured below left to right is Gwynfor Rowlands with the ‘big V8’, David Pritchard with the ‘John Deere’, Glyn Williams with the ‘Cae’, Simon Millichamp with the ‘British Leyland’ and Dafydd Humphreys with the ‘New Holland’.

The friends originally hoped to raise £1,000 during the seven-day run for a local charity ‘close to all their hearts’.

Speaking on how the group passed that £1,000 target by raising £2034.35, Sioned Jones, who helped organise the tractor run, said: “We are over the moon to have raised so much, as our original estimation was around the £1,000 mark.

“They had so much fun and the welcome received by the locals along the way was truly heart-warming. We even had two other tractors join us along the way on the Saturday to Sarn Mellteyrn!”

Lynne Garlick, North Wales Fundraising Manager, said: “A huge thank you to everyone involved in the event.

“Despite the current restrictions, the team continued the tractor run via a slightly different route to raise over £2,000 for the Wales Air Ambulance.

“Like other charities across the UK, we have seen a significant decrease in funds due to the current pandemic.

“The continued support by fundraisers like Gwynfor, Dafydd, Glyn, Simon, David and Sioned will help keep our helicopters flying. Thank you to everyone who supported them and donated to such an important cause.”