‘The buzz was electric, it was amazing’ – Raunds man travels hundreds of miles to Scotland on 1964 tractor for host of charities

Brian ‘Badger’ Kettell, from Raunds, set off on June 13, and over the course of five days travelled the distance, starting at Ace Cafe in London, and ending at the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.

His 1964 Nuffield tractor, which has many parts made at the Leyland Trading Estate in Wellingborough, has no roof and much of the journey was done at around 20 miles per hour.

For him, it was a very personal journey, using the challenge to overcome mental struggles. He said: “Anybody that knows me knows that when I get an idea in my head I won’t let go of it.

“I needed to find something to focus on to get me out the state I was in before anything bad happens.

“Every town we went through there were people standing out cheering and waving banners.

"I could have got on the tractor and drive it all the way home. The adrenaline and the buzz was electric, it was amazing.”

Brian’s fundraiser is currently at £6,600, with some of the proceeds going to Adoption Matters a charity close to his heart, after growing up in the care system.

Brian added: "It’s my way of saying thank you to the people who helped me when I was a child, and thank you to the system that helped me when I needed it 30 years ago.”

Day one ended in Loughborough, with day two taking him into the Derbyshire Dales. The following days had Brian travel through to Kendal, Carlisle, and crossing into Scotland on June 17 at around 2.30pm.

At 2pm on Wednesday, June 18, Brian reached Murrayfield Stadium, the home of Scottish rugby – right at the same time the fundraiser reached the £5,000 mark.

The Derbyshire Dales were a highlight for Brian who said the views were ‘amazing’, and that ‘you could see 100 miles around’.

However, when Brian hit Kendal, he and his Nuffield tractor were hit with three-and-a-half hours of non-stop rain.

At the finish line he celebrated with a cigar that he had kept dry in the tractor throughout.

While 2026 is set to be a quiet year for Brian and his trusty tractor, he teases that he’s ‘planning something big’ for 2027.

Brian’s fundraiser can still be found online here.