by Nick Drew | Mon 16 May 2016
The Cat arriving at Lands End has ripped up the UK
The team behind the Ripping Up The UK charity event completed their marathon drive from John O’ Groats to Lands End in the 30th Anniversary “black” Caterpillar 432F2 on Sunday 15th May after completing the epic 877 mile trek, the Digger Man Blog joined a select gathering assembled to witness them crossing the line.
As things panned out I actually caught up with the team briefly when they stopped off at Finning UK Ltd’s head office in Cannock when I popped in to see someone on other business. As I parked my car the 432F2 came rolling in behind me. This stop was around the halfway mark for the run which the fundraisers are hoping will make around £25k for a new soft play area for SNAP (Special Needs Adventure Playground) Cannock.
During their visit to Finning's iconic head office on the A5, the Ripping Up The UK team were overwhelmed to receive a surprise donation of £2,000 from the company, presented by Finning UK and Ireland Managing Director, Kevin Parkes.
Following a stop at the Finning depot in Bristol the team headed for a stopover in Taunton. The final leg of the journey saw the team call into the Finning depot in Nanpean close to the famous china clay pits, where another warm welcome awaited them.
Whilst in the depot the guys behind the event Dale Hawkins and Gavin Elson took the opportunity of displaying the stunning looking 432F2 in front of some examples of the outgoing fleet of Cat trucks that have worked hard in the pits for many years.
It's fair to say that by this stage of the event the team members were starting to look tired and after a whole week on the road who can blame them! But after being fed and watered by the team at Finning in Nanpean the final push was on for the finish line in Lands End.
The machine finally powered into the famous Cornish landmark early on Sunday evening where it was greeted by proud members of the BCP Team from the Desford factory in Leicester where Cat backhoe loaders are made, including Steve Bishop, Mark Perkes and Bharat Majithia.
Talking to the Digger Man Blog Gavin Elson said “That machine has been absolutely brilliant and hasn’t missed a beat, it has been a dream to drive and has certainly been turning heads across the UK”