In the weeks before heading off to take in the World Cup, David Beckham had been devoting plenty of attention to the sprawling vegetable gardens at his £12million Cotswolds retreat.
Sharing a tour of the plot with his Instagram followers in June, Sir David lingered over tidy rows of late-spring produce, telling fans: ‘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.’
Yet in gardening, seven weeks can change everything. By the time Sir David returns from his extended break in the US and Ibiza, the scene awaiting him may be far less picture-perfect.
The record-breaking 2026 heatwave has transformed the normally lush ‘vale of Becks’ into something closer to a parched dust bowl. To make matters worse, a local hosepipe ban introduced earlier this week means any relief for the dry ground will have to come via watering cans and standpipes.
Striking new images of the Beckhams’ 40-acre West Oxfordshire estate reveal the severity of the dry spell that has affected large parts of the UK.
The extent of the drought may come as a surprise to the Beckhams, whose summer of 2026 has so far been dominated by a near-continuous run of holidays and overseas engagements.
Their summer travels began in May with a yacht trip through the Mediterranean, with the couple photographed arriving in Ibiza on May 24. A short return to the Cotswolds followed, during which Sir David checked on his garden on June 6.
By June 12, however, the family were back on the move, flying to Los Angeles where Sir David was celebrated with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame before attending the USA’s opening World Cup match.
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
Before the recent heatwave, David Beckham’s £12million Cotswolds estate was a luscious green oasis
The Beckhams have been on one long, almost-unbroken holiday this summer – starting with a yacht trip in the Mediterranean in May
David and Victoria Beckham celebrated an England goal in the World Cup match against Argentina
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 with his mother, Sandra, 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 Victoria’s deadpan reaction to a goal saw her become a global meme, England losing to Argentina, and the final.
They then returned to Europe once more, but instead of their travelling to their Cotswolds home, they headed for Ibiza.
In their prolonged absence, the scorching temperatures have even caused Sir David’s man-made boating lake to be shallower than normal.
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 nearly two years, 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.
The amateur gardener 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.
