Paul McCartney lets it be! Ex-Beatle lets grass on his 160-acre Sussex estate turn yellow as he respects hosepipe ban

Sir Paul McCartney sang on The Beatles' 'White Album', 'Find me in my field of grass, Mother Nature's son' - and he seems to be letting nature take its course by turning the grounds yellow at his 160-acre East Sussex estate.The former Beatle, 84, appears to be adhering to a hosepipe ban imposed on the area surrounding his sprawling property in Peasmarsh, near Rye.The yellowing grass, seen from above, comes in contrast to one of the UK homes owned by fellow rock'n'roll knight Sir Rod Stewart.Yet Sir Paul's scorched earth aligns with the sight of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards's Redlands estate over the county border in West Wittering, West Sussex.Pictures emerged this week of the lush grounds around 81-year-old Sir Rod's Grade II-listed, 18th-century Essex mansion he bought for £4.65million in 2013.They remained a healthy green despite a series of record-breaking UK heatwaves - with the Met Office this week issuing 'amber alert' warnings.Sir Paul bought the rural estate known as Blossom Hill Farm in 1973, moving in with his late first wife Linda and their children.Additions since have included a recording studio, where he taped his December 2020 release McCartney III - which he described as his 'rockdown' album and completed to keep himself occupied during Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney's 160-acre East Sussex estate shows signs of the heatwave Sir Paul, pictured at Glastonbury in June 2022, bought his Sussex property in 1973Sir Paul, married since 2011 to third wife Nancy Shevell, was recently pictured visiting his native city of Liverpool - as well as London, where he has owned a home in St John's Wood, close to the Abbey Road studios, since the mid-1960s.New images of his Sussex estate show a green herb garden but also swathes of yellow and brown grass.A hosepipe ban for the area was imposed last month by South East Water, with the restrictions covering not only Sussex but also Berkshire, Kent, Surrey and Hampshire.Meanwhile, Sir Rod's ten-bedroom home opens out on to a range of sprawling gardens and includes a mini golf course with a fairway, two bunkers and a lush putting green.There is also an artificial football pitch with a 20-space car park which Sir Rod had installed at the property before moving in with wife Penny Lancaster in 2016.Sir Rod's property is supplied by Affinity Water, which introduced a hosepipe ban across its central region, including Essex, on July 17 due to the weather conditions.Eight other water companies have brought in bans, which mean customers are legally banned from using hosepipes to water gardens or wash cars, patios or boats.There is no evidence Sir Rod has breached a ban, given there are many workarounds for watering grass such as using a watering can. He may also have an exemption. Sir Rod Stewart’s Grade II-listed mansion has very green gardens despite the dry weatherMeanwhile, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's lawns are greener than most thanks to a large private lake just a stone’s throw from the back of his Essex mansion.The star has installed hosepipes between the pond and his garden, which is markedly greener than the parched countryside that surrounds it.Water taken from a privately owned source – such as from a lake, pond, spring or well on a property – is exempt from the hosepipe ban.Oliver has lived at the Grade I-listed 12-bedroom property since purchasing it for £6million in 2019, and the pond sits within its 70-acre site.While this summer is set to be the UK's hottest ever and 45million people are now living in areas declared in drought, the chef has kept selective areas of his land a refreshing shade of green, encircled in brown fields.Faring perhaps less well is 82-year-old Keith Richards's West Sussex home, with a small garden circled by buildings - but with other grass on his estate just as brown and dry as the surrounding fields.With no visible private water source, Richards cannot rely on a handy nearby lake to get around restrictions, which came into place in the county on July 25.Drought has been declared for all of Wales and almost three-quarters of England – and a sixth heatwave of the year is on the way this week with 38C (100F) highs. Chef Jamie Oliver's lawns are rather more green than most - helped by having a large personal lake just a stone's throw from the back of his Essex mansion Keith Richards' home in West Sussex has a small green patch at the centre, but other grass on the property is struggling Summer temperatures so far this year: Met Office dataArea Mean temperature (June 1 to August 10, 2026) Difference from summer average Current warmest summer on record UK 16.48C +1.88C 16.12C (2025) England 18.19C +2.46C 17.44C (2025) Wales 16.80C +2.17C 16.09C (2025) It was confirmed this week the UK is on course for its hottest summer ever – with only average conditions needed for the rest of August to beat a record set only last year.The mean temperature for the summer so far, from June 1 to yesterday, stands at 16.48C – which is 1.88C above the 1991 to 2020 average, provisional data shows. TOP TEN HOTTEST DAYS IN BRITAIN - INCLUDING TWO IN JUNE 20261 40.3C July 19, 2022 Coningsby, Lincolnshire 2 38.7C July 25, 2019 Cambridge 3 38.5C August 10, 2003 Faversham, Kent 4 38.2C July 18, 2022 Pitsford, Northamptonshire 5 38.0C June 26, 2026 Lingwood, Norfolk 6 37.8C July 31, 2020 London Heathrow 7 37.1C August 3, 1990 Cheltenham, Gloucestershire 8= 36.7C August 9, 1911 Raunds, Northamptonshire 8= 36.7C July 1, 2015 London Heathrow 8= 36.7C June 25, 2026 Merryfield, Somerset The Beatles star, 79, has started producing crops of hemp as well as spelt wheat, rye and peas at his estate in Peasmarsh near Rye. Sir Paul revealed in October 2021 how he was growing hemp at his Sussex farm but had to hide the crops to prevent teenagers stealing the plants. Hemp - which is legal to grow in the UK if a licence is obtained - is a plant that comes from the same species as cannabis. But unlike cannabis, hemp contains very low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The product is used to make cloth, cosmetics, rope, printer's ink, wood preservative, detergents, soaps, and lighting oil.Speaking on the River Cafe Table 4 podcast he said: 'We grow crops, I like doing things like spelt wheat, rye, we grow peas.'We're actually just getting into growing hemp, the funny thing with government regulations is you've got to keep it where people can't see it, because you get all the kids coming in and robbing it!'He went on to explain that his farm is all organic and that the estate does not use any pesticides or fertiliser.