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Farmers raise tens of thousands for charities after UK-wide combine trip

8 June 2023 | by FarmingUK Team | Finance, News, Rural Life
The team made it to Land's End this morning, raising nearly £40,000 in the process (Photo: Claas/Twitter)
The team made it to Land's End this morning, raising nearly £40,000 in the process (Photo: Claas/Twitter)

Four farmers have raised nearly £40,000 for charity after driving a combine harvester from John o' Groats to Land's End.

The fundraiser, which took the drivers five days to complete, aims to raise awareness and funds for Mind mental health charity and Children with Cancer UK.

The team comprised of four drivers - Olly Harrison, John Branson, James Baldini and Martin Williams, with support from machinery firm Claas.

The route was driven over five days, starting John O’Groats in northern Scotland, with overnight stops at Sellars Agriculture Ltd Perth, Rickerby Ltd Carnforth, Cotswold Farm Park and Hamblys Ltd Launceston.

The team made it to Land's End, located on the tip of Cornwall, on Thursday morning (8 June).

They drove around 200 miles per day, and being a heavy agricultural machine, motorways weren't used.

So far they have raised an impressive £38,000 for both charities, well over their initial target of £10,000.

Funds have been raised for Mind mental health charity, with the farmers saying they had all suffered the loss of close friends through suicide.

They said on their fundraiser page: "These tragic losses could have been avoided by talking and communication.

"So we are doing our best to raise awareness of this big problem country-wide by partnering with Mind mental health charity.

"As farmers we have chosen the biggest machine that we could find to highlight this big issue throughout the country."