Carlow to Cork Tractor Club members recently completed a 1,700km trip from Carlow in northern Germany to Carlow in Ireland.

The club celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. As the name suggests, the club does an annual tractor run from Bagenalstown in Co Carlow to Cork each year in aid of the Crumlin Children’s Hospital.

This year the club members wanted to mix it up a little and try something different. A number of them do business in Germany and knew of a small town in the north named Carlow.

This led to the decision to transport 12 vintage tractors out to Germany and drive home. The tractors arrived in Germany on 16 May, while the drivers flew out on 17 May.

The journey home encompassed a 1,700km trip. The route brought the tractors through Germany and the Netherlands to Killingholme Port in the UK, across England and into Wales, from where they caught the ferry from Holyhead before arriving in Dublin at 12pm on Saturday last, 25 May.

Club members informed the Irish Farmers Journal they didn’t encounter any rain or mechanical issues on their route.

Later this year the club will be raffling one of the tractors that completed the trip, a Massey Ferguson 135 Multipower.

The club also does a number of other tractor runs each year, including a 32-county run some years ago. On Friday, 38 club members will be setting off on their annual tractor run to Cork.

Over the las 15 years, the club has raised over €300,000 for Crumlin Children’s Hospital.