A SORN farmer has raised hundreds of pounds for a local care home by riding through East Ayrshire in a tractor convoy.

Lynne MacMillan, alongside friends and family, collected over £500 for Glennie House Care Home in Auchinleck from residents of the towns they passed through as part of their 32 mile long trip.

The convoy was made up of 11 vintage and modern tractors that drew the eye of many as they passed through towns collecting donations.

The road run took them through Sorn, Mauchline, Tarbolton and Galston. Beginning at Crofthead Farm they drove to the Mauchline Pit and the home of local tractor enthusiast George Wisener’s, from there back into Mauchline and along to Tarbolton where they stopped for lunch.

They then headed back to Sorn via Galston and Woody’s at Killoch Farm, around the ‘Four Farms’ and on to Sorn Castle, where they were greeted by ice creams donated by Woody’s and finally back to Crofthead Farm to finish.

Lynne, whose 33rd birthday coincided with the trip, said: “We would all have usually been on numerous vintage tractor road runs, agricultural shows and get togethers with our tractors but the coronavirus had stopped us in our tracks.

“After deliberating on whether I should do a road run or not, I decided we should. After a week or so of planning, asking close friends and family along, it was all systems go.

“It was decided that any money raised would go to Glennie House Care Home in Auchinleck. My great aunt was resident there until December and my fiancé David’s mother is still a resident there now.

We decided to run it alongside my birthday, so on Sunday, June 7 we all descended upon Crofthead Farm, Sorn to line up for the start of what was to be approximately 32 miles ahead of us.”

The total raised was £531, which was delivered to Glennie House on Monday, June 15.

Lynne was extremely grateful for the generous donations of the public and to all those that showed their support, saying: “Thank you everyone who made donations. I am astounded to have made a total of £531 to go to the care home to buy something for the staff and residents to enjoy.

“Thank you to all the drivers – myself, David, Charlie, Lindsay, Muir, Lex, Euan, Billy, Bob, Willy and Sean. Special thanks to Muir Nisbet for planning our route, his wife Enna for soup and rolls for lunch, my dad, Phil MacMillan and also Jean Shaw who were our photographers for the day, Lex Craig for use of his ground for the lunch stop, Jamie at Sorn Castle for allowing us in the grounds, Woody’s Ice Cream for the ice creams and Keri Shaw for a BBQ to finish off our day.”

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