The hot weather is taking its toll on a National Trust property in Worcestershire.
Croome has stopped serving hot food, a play area has had to be closed and opening hours for its Walled Garden have been reduced.
Continued high temperatures and lack of rain is also impacting the site’s celebrated gardens.
In a Facebook post, Croome said its RAF-themed play area would be closed for the rest of the week as play equipment surfaces were getting very hot. But its natural play area is still open.
It added: “Due to the high temperatures forecast for the rest of this week, the café will not be serving hot food until Monday but we have lots of cold drinks and ice creams available.
“The privately owned Walled Garden will be opening and closing earlier due to the heat.
“The new opening time for this weekend only (August 13 and 14) is 10am with last entry at 2.30pm. Thanks for your understanding.”
The National Trust has also spoken about how much of a challenge the hot weather is for its gardeners.
A spokesperson for the conservation charity said: “Our garden teams work really hard to keep gardens looking beautiful year-round, but the very high temperatures and low rainfall are proving to be quite a challenge.
National Trust calls for emissions to be cut
“In prolonged dry weather, we have to be responsible and limit irrigation to only the most fragile and important plants, as people and animals need the water more.
“Please don’t worry - parched lawns and borders will recover.
“Mulching borders with our own compost and leaving grass to grow a little longer are two ways we help our gardens to be resilient, and for the future we’re looking at storing more rain water and planting drought-resistant species.”
The National Trust says this summer’s exceptional conditions should act as a wake-up call to cut emissions and adapt.
Rills and water features in some historic gardens have dried up, a pond-dipping event in Yorkshire was cancelled after the 15-metre-long pool all but vanished and a waterwheel in Cambridgeshire that powers a flour mill has stopped turning.
Keith Jones, national climate change advisor for the National Trust, said: “We must cut emissions. The UK still holds the COP presidency, and the next Prime Minister should put this at the top of their to-do list as COP27 approaches in November.”
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