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Kate Middleton and Prince William ride tractors in fun trip to the farm - WATCH VIDEO

The couple visited Durham on Tuesday

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Emily Nash
Emily Nash - London
Royal EditorLondon
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kate middleton and william laughing© Photo: PA

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge headed to a farm on Tuesday, visiting a family of farmers in County Durham.

The royal couple, who will mark their tenth wedding anniversary on Thursday, had a fun day out and even took turns behind the wheel of a tractor.

MORE: Kate Middleton takes children on special family outing in Sandringham

On their first joint public engagement outside London since December, William and Kate toured Manor Farm near Darlington with owners Clare Wise and Stewart Chapman, seeing their cattle, calving and lambing sheds.

WATCH: Prince William and Kate ride tractors in fun trip to the farm

william kate farm© Photo: PA

Clare and Stewart, parents to three children and winners of Sheep Farmer of the Year 2018, told the royal couple how they focus on protecting the health and welfare of their livestock and how they work to improve productivity while boosting sustainability.

MORE: The Queen makes first official appearance since Prince Philip's funeral

kate middleton riding a tractor© Photo: PA

The fifth-generation family-run farm uses tools including grass monitoring, land rotation and feed sampling.

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kate middleton smiling© Photo: PA

For the trip, Kate was in a Fair Isle style jumper, wax jacket, boots and skinny jeans, while William was in a padded coat, navy blue chinos, and sturdy boots.

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kate william smiling

Farmer Stewart, 51, who sat in the tractor on both journeys with the royals, said afterwards: "They were both very good. William mentioned how the GPS technology was used in helicopters so understood how it worked.

"They both wanted a go and didn't need any persuasion. Once they got used it, it was fine. There was no drama. Both very keen and very knowledgeable."

kate william and cows© Photo: PA

The Duke and Duchess also heard from a group of local farmers supported by the National Union of Farmers about their experiences of the past year, including the impact of Covid-19 on mental health and how they have balanced home schooling with their work.

READ: Prince Charles' new role announced following Prince Philip's funeral

kate middleton walking farm

The royals were then shown how the farm measures its grass to ensure it has the correct mass and length for nesting birds and feed for the grazing sheep to avoid.

kate middleton animal© Photo: PA

This marked the Cambridges' first official in-person engagement away from London since their royal train tour in December last year.

MORE: The two royals whose popularity has increased since Prince Philip's death

william kate sitting farm© Photo: PA

Meanwhile, Prince William has previously told of his passion for farming, revealing that his children are already playing on tractors.

READ: Prince William and Kate Middleton are hiring a new addition to their team

prince william riding tractor© Photo: PA

The group also talked about the work farmers are doing to improve environmental impact and help deliver the UK’s commitment to net-zero carbon emissions, ahead of November’s COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow later this year.

william kate cheesy waffles visit

Afterwards, Prince William and Kate visited The Cheesy Waffles Project (CWP), which provides young people with learning disabilities with the skills and independence they need for adulthood.

william kate talk kids

William even made a touching reference to his late grandfather as he chatted to young people who had completed their Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Prince William heard how Evan Jones, 18 and 23-year-old Lee Middleton had both earned their gold award on a visit to a youth project in Durham.

"Do you know he was my grandfather?”"he asked them. "Sadly he died a few weeks ago. He would have been so pleased that you got your awards."

kate middleton elbow

They were there ahead of their 10th wedding anniversary this Thursday to hear how the project has worked with The Key – one of 26 charities chosen to receive a share of their Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund in 2011.

william kate golf

The royal couple even had the chance to play some golf.

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