PREPARATIONS are now well underway for the 2018 NVTRR in Knighton, Radnorshire hosted by Teme Valley Vintage Club which sees hundreds of tractors descending on the border market town situated at the mid-point of Offa's Dyke, the ancient boundary between England and Wales on April 1.

The club has been selected to host the National Vintage Tractor Road Run 2018 with the featured county of Radnorshire. It will also be assisted by other tractor clubs of Radnorshire and the Borders.

The first 'national' was held in Herefordshire in 1985 organised by Ashley Godsall. It has been held in a different county of the British Isles every year since then, except for the year of the foot and mouth epidemic and has never been to the same county twice.

Still overseen by the founder Ashley the run is starting from Benson's Factory Yard at Knighton, by kind permission of Roy and Dave Edwards of M.A. Evans Transport, who are the main sponsors.

The site is one of the former homes of County Tractors and Bamfords Machinery. McConnel also used the site as an extension of its Ludlow factory and the swing-over hedge trimmer was built here. Also on the same site are Clayton Engineering who manufacture and service lifeboat launch and recovery vehicles and trailers for the RNLI for the use of lifeboat stations around the British Isles and Ireland, some examples of which will be on display on the Saturday. Brian Hughes, consultant engineer for the company will be on hand on the day to oversee the display.

The run commences at 9.30am prompt and does a figure of eight route encompassing Presteigne, the former county town of Radnorshire and then over Stonewall Hill with scenic views of several counties and back to Knighton for a lunchtime stop at Knighton Community Centre. In the afternoon tractors will be travelling on the Shropshire side of the River Teme, which enables the run to go up and across the Dyke, then via Llanfairwaterdine back to Knighton, by which time tractors will have crossed the border many times to include Herefordshire, Shropshire and Radnorshire. The scenery is stunning and the views far reaching so organisers are hoping for a clear day.

Organisers are expecting up to 500 entrants and are also organising a charity raffle with prizes of £1000, £500 and £250 and many other prizes.

All proceeds will be distributed between the club's chosen charities, the RNLI, Wales Air Ambulance, Hope House Children's Hospice and East Radnorshire Day Centre. The raffle will be drawn at the social evening on March 31 at Knighton Community Centre. Raffle tickets are £1 each and are available from TVVC members. They are also available at Bradfords Ironmongers in Knighton and East Radnor Day Centre in Presteigne.

Teme Valley Vintage Club was formed in 1980 by a small group of enthusiasts from Knighton. Three of the original founders are still club members to this day. The annual club programme comprises a charity tractor run, vintage rally and ploughing match, together with various social events. Money is raised annually for local charities. The club meets on the first Tuesday of every month at the Castle Inn, Knucklas and new members are always welcome.

Entry forms are available to download from the website temevalleyvintageclub.co.uk or Teme Valley Facebook page. Telephone enquiries should be made to members of the organising committee, Steve Weaver (chairman) on 07891 909325, Phil Evans on 01544 267944, Pat Caine on 07966 387815 or Gordon Morris on 07989 894022.