When William Blake conjured an idealized England in the early 1800s, it was of a “green and pleasant land.”
The image, from his poem known as “Jerusalem,” burrowed deep into the nation’s psyche. People sing it as a hymn in churches, at sports stadiums, in concert halls and at political rallies.
It is, however, increasingly at odds with the England of 2026, scorched and wilting under an unforgiving sun.
Officials in July declared half of England to be in a drought after a run of weather that set records and a month in which 19 of its 48 counties saw effectively no rain at all. To conserve water, many utilities have banned the use of sprinklers and hose pipes, which might have kept parched lawns and fields greener.
Here is how that looks in some of the country’s more recognizable places:
