UK Christmas Tractor Runs 2026 & 2027

Mostly on the two weekends before Christmas, which in 2026 means 12 to 13 and 19 to 20 December, nearly always in the evening once it is dark. In 2025 the Nairn run went out on 6 December, Petersfield on the 20th, and Clitheroe, Arbroath and the Weald of Kent parade all on the 21st. A second wave follows over the holidays: Larling and Far Forest on Boxing Day morning, the Livingstone run in Armagh on 27 December, and Kilrea's New Year run on the first Saturday of January.

Yes, all of them. The drivers pay to enter (typically £10 to £20 per tractor) and spectators are simply asked for a donation, usually into buckets carried along the route or at the finish. Take cash, because a country lane at 6pm is no place for a card machine, though many runs now post a JustGiving link on their Facebook page too. The money goes to air ambulances, hospices and children's charities: the Banbury run supports Katharine House Hospice, and Louth's collects for Cancer Research UK.

The start, a town centre finale, or a pub on the route. At the muster you see every tractor lit up and stationary before departure, which suits young children best. Finales are the spectacle: Nairn finishes down the High Street, Grantown-on-Spey rolls along its High Street at about 7pm, and Pontfaen's run ends at Brecon High School with refreshments and a best dressed vehicle prize. Some runs build in a public stop, like Llangefni on the Penmynydd run, where Father Christmas appears at the halfway point. Failing all that, find a pub garden on the published route and let the convoy come to you.

On the organiser's Facebook page, which is where routes are announced through October and November. Most publish a route map and start time a few weeks out, and some post live updates on the night if the convoy is running late. Our listings link to the organiser for each run and are checked weekly, so routes appear here as soon as they are public. Bear in mind the advertised time is when the tractors leave the start, not when they reach your village.

Most evening runs leave between 4.30pm and 5pm, once it is properly dark. Louth departs the livestock market at 4.30pm, Banbury and Sheepy at 5pm, and Grantown sets off at 5pm and finishes around 7pm. A big convoy takes 20 to 40 minutes to pass a single spot, and points further along the route can be over an hour after the start time, so there is no need to stand in the cold from half four if you are ten miles out. Boxing Day runs are the exception: Larling leaves the Angel Inn in the morning and is back by early afternoon.

Rain does not stop them, and the lights arguably look better in it. Ice, snow or dangerous winds can force a postponement, and that decision usually appears on the organiser's Facebook page during the afternoon. Boxing Day morning runs like Larling are the most exposed, since frost lingers on back lanes. If you are driving out to watch, check the page before you leave, and give the convoy room if you meet it on the road.