History
If you look hard enough, a combine harvester graveyard can be found in Northumberland, not far from Alnwick. It covers 700 acres and is estimated to be the largest graveyard of its kind in the UK. The site is owned by a famer named John Manners who amassed the agricultural vehicles so that he can sell off some of their parts individually for profit. In 2012 the number of harvesters he owned was estimated to be around 350, although it is likely that more have been added to this collection in recent years. The enterprise began with an old MF 500, which was bought for its parts that could be used on his digger; he suggested that ‘it all started when I got a price for new tires for a digger. I found I could buy an old combine for less and get the tyres off that’. Selling parts of combine harvesters has become Manner’s central trade as demand for his business reaches as far as Thailand and New Zealand. Since the rapid growth of the business, Manner’s has been able to amass his own fleet of heavy goods vehicles which are used for transporting harvesters and bulk haulage across the country. For anyone interested, you can purchase second hand reconditioned grain pans, engines, wheels, ‘shaker shoes’, sieves and unloading augers. During the winter months, when the demand for combine parts declines, Manners and his team, using his HGV’s, also supply straw and hay to farmers who require it.
Our Version of Events
With our adventure over in Scotland, we took the long route back into England so that we could visit a combine harvester graveyard we’d heard rumours of. Driving down various empty county lanes, we were looking for a large belt of trees, because our information suggested that the combines were hidden behind them. Sure enough, we spied something that looked like the perfect hiding spot for hundreds of harvesters, so we parked up nearby and set about making our way towards the trees. Luckily for us, we’d nailed it and were soon wandering amongst lots of interesting machinery. As indicated above, the site is quite large, so it took a while to get around it all. I’d suggest that this is undoubtedly the place to come if you like combine harvesters; they have a very good range stretching from much older models right up to a couple of present-day machines. Despite our lack of knowledge as regards combines, we did what most people would do if they found themselves under similar circumstances: we had a climb on a couple, fiddled with various mechanisms, managed to test out some of the cabs and examined some engines. All in all it was a good end to an afternoon and I think I’ve now seen enough combines to last a lifetime.
Explored with Ford Mayhem.
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
22:
23:
If you look hard enough, a combine harvester graveyard can be found in Northumberland, not far from Alnwick. It covers 700 acres and is estimated to be the largest graveyard of its kind in the UK. The site is owned by a famer named John Manners who amassed the agricultural vehicles so that he can sell off some of their parts individually for profit. In 2012 the number of harvesters he owned was estimated to be around 350, although it is likely that more have been added to this collection in recent years. The enterprise began with an old MF 500, which was bought for its parts that could be used on his digger; he suggested that ‘it all started when I got a price for new tires for a digger. I found I could buy an old combine for less and get the tyres off that’. Selling parts of combine harvesters has become Manner’s central trade as demand for his business reaches as far as Thailand and New Zealand. Since the rapid growth of the business, Manner’s has been able to amass his own fleet of heavy goods vehicles which are used for transporting harvesters and bulk haulage across the country. For anyone interested, you can purchase second hand reconditioned grain pans, engines, wheels, ‘shaker shoes’, sieves and unloading augers. During the winter months, when the demand for combine parts declines, Manners and his team, using his HGV’s, also supply straw and hay to farmers who require it.
Our Version of Events
With our adventure over in Scotland, we took the long route back into England so that we could visit a combine harvester graveyard we’d heard rumours of. Driving down various empty county lanes, we were looking for a large belt of trees, because our information suggested that the combines were hidden behind them. Sure enough, we spied something that looked like the perfect hiding spot for hundreds of harvesters, so we parked up nearby and set about making our way towards the trees. Luckily for us, we’d nailed it and were soon wandering amongst lots of interesting machinery. As indicated above, the site is quite large, so it took a while to get around it all. I’d suggest that this is undoubtedly the place to come if you like combine harvesters; they have a very good range stretching from much older models right up to a couple of present-day machines. Despite our lack of knowledge as regards combines, we did what most people would do if they found themselves under similar circumstances: we had a climb on a couple, fiddled with various mechanisms, managed to test out some of the cabs and examined some engines. All in all it was a good end to an afternoon and I think I’ve now seen enough combines to last a lifetime.
Explored with Ford Mayhem.
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
22:
23:
But he's sound and doesn't mind folk wandering around, would be a shame if there became issues here as he has far better thing to do.
