Calling themselves ‘The Irish Rovers,’ four Co Cork vintage enthusiasts will soon embark on a “once in a lifetime” tractor run.
The four men plan to take on the challenge of driving their vintage tractors from John o’Groats in Scotland to Land’s End in the southwest of England as a fundraiser for CRITICAL, the emergency medical response charity.
The route of 2,240km will take them 22 days during May.
Ballinascarthy’s Paddy Ryan will use a 1978 Leyland tractor, while James Keohane from Ballinhassig will use his 1964 Fordson Major. Kieran O’Donoghue from Mitchelstown is taking his 1984 Ford 7610 on the route, while Tom Fitzgerald from Rathcormac will see the countryside from his 1952 Nuffield DH4 tractor.
Mr Fitzgerald told the Irish Examiner that it is a “mammoth” task, but they all feel positive about it.
He explained how the group will be taking quite the scenic route, as such vehicles are not allowed on the faster and often more direct motorways, so they will use the minor roads to cover the journey.
“If you were to do it in a car, the shortest possible route is around 838 miles, and a lot of that would be motorway,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
However, he said that one would “see nothing” that way. So the men have instead opted for the option of doing a much longer route over the 22 days instead ... and they “aren’t going to be in a panic doing it”.
Route highlights
The group has all the route highlights planned.
The first section of their journey will take them along the top coast of Scotland before veering down inland through the Scottish Highlands, over the bridge at Inverness, along the shores of Loch Ness, passing the foot of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain, and on to the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which the famous Harry Potter steam train passes over in the films.
They will travel by Fort William, through the Valley of Glencoe, and make their way to Edinburgh, crossing over the Firth of Forth bridge before stopping at Edinburgh Castle.
On their journey, they will eventually reach the Pennines in northern England, famous for the annual rally, and then into the Lake District, where they will be almost at the foot of Scafell Pike.
They will encounter the Yorkshire Dales, where the popular series, All Creatures Great and Small, is set.
Along the journey, they will head down through the Shropshire Hills to Ross-on-Wye stopping at Ludlow Castle and Hereford Cathedral on the way.
Ross-on-Wye has a connection with one of their tractors, as Mr Fitzgerald’s Nuffield was supplied new back in 1952 by the late Dennis Hitchings, who owned a garage there.
They will travel through the picturesque Cotswolds, visiting Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm before taking a two-day break at the Castle Combe Steam Rally.
From there, they will travel to Bath, making their way to Stonehenge, before veering down through Somerset and Dorset to Exeter, where they finally reach the coast.
It is mostly coastline from there on, and “with a bit of luck and a prayer”, they will reach Land’s End on Saturday, May 25.
“We’re trying to take in as much scenery and landmarks as we can,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“It’s something we’re only going to do once, and if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right.”
Any unfavourable weather events won’t deter them along their journey: “We’ll plough on”.
“I always look at it anyway that if you don’t get a bad day, you won’t appreciate a good day,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“That’s my outlook in life always.”
There won’t be any relief drivers and each of the four is planning to complete the entire journey from start to finish.
Preparation
Mr Fitzgerald said that he knows of the journey being done a number of years ago by a group of Irish people, but they had one tractor between them, taking turns at the wheel.
“Whereas in our instance, we believe we’ll be the first Irish lads to do it top to bottom driving all the way with no relief as such,” according to Mr Fitzgerald.
The men are busy tending to their tractors, ensuring they are well-serviced.
“You’re going to have problems in the long run,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
But the funny thing is, there were five of us who did Malin to Mizen a few years ago and we had only one blip and that was a puncture and, lucky enough, the puncture happened straight outside a tyre shop.
“That was our only blip that time over five days.
“Obviously, we’ll be doing 20 days of driving the tractors over, and there’s going to be problems, but we’re going to be as prepared as we can be.”
Apparently, there are more “advantages” to travelling in their beloved vintage tractors rather than any new vehicles.
“Two of the tractors have no cabs. The one I’m driving has no cab,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“Top speed is 18 or 19 miles per hour. You’re travelling at an average speed of about 15, and you’re in the open air, you can see everything, experience all the sounds.
“I normally drive a truck, that’s what I was at with years involved in haulage, and you’d see a lot of things from a truck, but you’re going too fast.
“If you’re in a car, you’re travelling at an average speed of 40 or 45 miles, you’re much lower down, you’ll see nothing.”
'Look on the bright side'
Paddy Ryan said that there is a “pile of planning” in an event like this, “but it’s for a very good cause”.
CRITICAL is entirely funded by donations from the public and has teams of doctors, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and community first responders who volunteer to attend serious and life-threatening emergencies and illnesses in their local areas.
Mr Ryan said that “it’s nice to give something back”, and that “you never know” when you may need these services.
Mr Ryan is certainly a familiar face for many in the vintage scene.
“It’s usually a David Brown I drive, but they’re a small bit slow on the road, so the Leyland is a bit faster to keep up with the lads,” he said.
Mr Ryan, a “semi-retired” dairy farmer, said that a decade ago, he wouldn’t have done something like this “because I’d feel like I wouldn’t have the time to do it”.
“I’m at a different stage now,” he said.
He hopes that for those following along with the journey updates on the dedicated Facebook page, it will give them some joy.
“We just have to look at the bright side; I know it’s not easy at the moment, but a bit of positivity is nice,” Mr Ryan added.
Special passenger
A special passenger will be travelling with the group too “from top to bottom”, Tom Fitzgerald has confirmed.
“We’ll have to have somebody who is ready to make plenty of marmalade sandwiches,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
Paddington Bear will most likely be hitching a lift with Kieran O’Donoghue in the Ford - because his tractor has a cab.
While the four drivers are on their trip, a further fundraising event will also take place in Co Cork.
Proprietor Peter Shanahan, along with local involvement, has announced that there will be a tractor, truck and car run from the Long Strand on the May Bank Holiday Monday.
Monies raised from this event this year will be used to support The Irish Rovers’ fundraising trip in aid of CRITICAL and other local charities.
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