Express & Star

In Pictures: Drought takes its toll on countryside as England changes colour

England has taken on a different hue with infrequent rain causing parched landscapes.

Published
Last updated
Summer weather Aug 8th 2022

England’s Commonwealth Games anthem is Jerusalem but foreign visitors to the sporting festival in Birmingham would be forgiven for questioning the hymn’s claim that it is a green and pleasant land.

A prolonged drought has seen the usual verdant hue replaced by a golden brown resembling a sun tan as the parched grass is deprived of essential rainwater.

With hosepipe bans on their way and calls to ration water, landmarks such as Leeds Castle in Kent look very different than the images in tourist brochures while the going was decidedly firm for racehorses being put through their paces at Newmarket.

Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
Pedalo riders traverse the Boating Lake in Regent’s Park, London (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
A horse on the gallops at Newmarket Racecourse (Newmarket/PA)
Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
Leeds Castle, usually in green surroundings, had a parched look (Gareth Fuller/PA)

London’s green parks have also been affected with visitors greeted by scenes more akin to southern Europe.

Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
A dried-up lake in Wanstead Park, north-east London (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
Visitors to Wanstead Flats in north-east London enjoy the hot weather (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The village of Odiham in Hampshire was starved of rain throughout July and farmers are having to bring in food for the cattle.

Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
Parched grass surround the welcome sign for Odiham in Hampshire (Ben Birchall/PA)
Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
Parched grass at the cricket green in the village of Odiham (Ben Birchall/PA)
Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
Parched grass in a farmer’s field in Odiham (Ben Birchall/PA)
Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
A man walks along dry earth on the banks of Grafham Water near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire (Joe Giddens/PA)

The fairways at the Links Golf Club in Newmarket took on a scorched look, although at least the greens lived up to their name.

Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
Scorched fairways at the Links Golf Club in Newmarket (Newmarket/PA)

Firefighters were deployed in Ashford to deal with the consequences of the weather on the tinder-dry countryside.

Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
Firefighters bring a field fire under control near Ashford in Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)
Summer weather Aug 8th 2022
Viewed from above the effect of the weather becomes even clearer (Catherine Wylie/PA)
Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.