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Shortly before he left to watch the World Cup, David Beckham was spending a great deal of time in the extensive vegetable gardens at his £12million Cotswolds home.
Touring the plot for his Instagram followers in June, Sir David zoomed in on neat beds of late spring vegetables and fruit, noting: 'My sweetcorn is coming along, and I must admit that lettuce looks rather good. It's almost Wimbledon and we have some strawberries. It is all looking very lovely.’
But seven weeks is a long time in horticulture and when Sir David finally gets home from his ongoing holiday in the US and Ibiza, he may find things are looking rather less rosy locally.
The record-breaking 2026 heatwave has left the usually verdant ‘vale of Becks’ looking like a desert dust bowl - while a local hosepipe ban that came into effect earlier this week means alleviating the drought will only be possible using watering cans and standpipes.
These extraordinary images of their 40-acre West Oxfordshire estate show the shocking scale of the aridity that has hit so much of the UK.
And this may be news to the Beckhams because their summer of 2026 has been one long, almost-unbroken holiday.
It began with a yacht trip in the Mediterranean in May - they were photographed docking in Ibiza on May 24. There was then a brief trip home to the Cotswolds when Sir David inspected his garden on June 6.
Less than a week later, on June 12, the family were in Los Angeles where Sir David was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - before going to see the USA’s opening World Cup game.
These extraordinary images of David Beckham's 40-acre West Oxfordshire estate show the shocking scale of the aridity that has hit so much of the UK
Normally a luscious green, David Beckham's £12million Cotswolds estate has turned into an arid dust bowl
The Beckhams have been on one long, almost-unbroken holiday this summer - starting with a yacht trip in the Mediterranean in May
David and wife Victoria Beckham celebrated an England goal as they attended the World Cup in the USA
They then returned to Britain briefly to enjoy a Father's Day family pub lunch, minus estranged son Brooklyn, on June 21. Eight days later David was in the royal box for the opening day of Wimbledon.
The family then returned to the US for the World Cup, attending a number of matches - including England’s dramatic win over Norway when wife Victoria’s deadpan reaction to a goal saw her become a global meme and the final.
They then returned to Europe once more but instead of their Cotswolds home, went straight to another break in Ibiza.
In their prolonged absence, the scorching temperatures have even caused Sir David's man-made boating lake to visibly dry back. The only starkly visible areas of green left appear to be the family's five-a-side football pitch which is thought to be made of artificial grass - and the trees and that cherished vegetable patch.
Last week, Thames Water, which covers West Oxfordshire, said it had seen a ‘significant’ increase in demand amid high temperatures which led to a hosepipe ban which came into effect on Wednesday.
But Sir David can probably be confident that his fruit and veg is still ok - because of one Carly Holmes.
She has been the Beckhams' head gardener for the past year and nine months, and it’s thought they rate her very highly.
Sir David has been quick to give her public credit for helping him in his new found love of gardening, calling her ‘My lovely Carly’ in name checks on social media.
Beckham credits the Covid lockdown with inspiring his interest in horticulture - as he spent several months stuck in the Cotswolds.
Recalling that period, he said: 'I knew that once I had the country house, my love of the countryside would grow but I didn't realise how much it would.
Shortly before he left to watch the World Cup, David Beckham was spending a great deal of time in the extensive vegetable gardens at his £12million Cotswolds home
Beckham credits the Covid lockdown with inspiring his interest in horticulture - as he spent several months stuck in the Cotswolds
The only starkly visible areas of green left appear to be the family's five-a-side football pitch which is thought to be made of artificial grass - and the trees and that cherished veg patch
‘I can remember feeling so lucky to have a place like this then. We based ourselves here and, when it got to the stage when only one family member was allowed to go to do the food shopping, I said to Victoria, "Why don't we grow everything here? Why don't we have chickens?" And that's how it all started.
'I wanted my own carrots and eggs and to grow flowers that we could cut to have in the house, so I planned out my vegetable garden and the chicken area.'
Since his love of gardening became publicly known, Sir David has even bonded with King Charles over their shared interest - and was invited to join him at the Chelsea Flower Show in April.