Vintage tractors have been blessed by Reverend John Dobson, Dean of Ripon Cathedral before being put through their paces at the weekend in preparation for this year’s Tractor Fest.
The UK's leading vintage tractor show is being held at Newby Hall over the weekend of 10 and 11 June 2017.
After the blessing at the Cathedral, show organisers gave lucky local residents a sneak preview of some of the vintage engines they can enjoy at the show when they passed through Ripon and surrounding villages including Copt Hewick, Dishforth and Marton-le-Moor.
The Very Reverend John Dobson, Dean of Ripon Cathedral commented: "It was very good to bless some of those preparing for the Tractor Fest at Newby Hall. This is a celebration of a dimension of agricultural and rural life that attracts people to this region from all over the country. I hope that many of them visit Ripon and the Cathedral."
Tractor Fest is the biggest event of its type in the country attracting thousands of visitors each year and staged by the Yorkshire Vintage Association at Newby Hall near Ripon.
This year’s two day event, sponsored by agricultural and machinery auctioneers Cheffins, will celebrate 100 years of the Ford Tractor and will showcase more than 1,500 engines of all marques. Ford tractors revolutionised food production in the UK when they were first imported in 1917.
The first day will culminate in the popular spectacle of the ‘March of the Tractors’ which will once again start at Newby Hall, following a route into Ripon centre and end in the market square (Saturday 10 June only from 5.30pm-7pm).
