It's slow and steady for these farmers
With gathering clouds under a brilliant blue sky, these farmers decided it was time to get the combines moving and get the harvest in.
Working hard on the Downton estate at Deepwood near Ludlow, tractor driver Zak Mumford and his colleagues made the most of the fine weather to get the barley cut.
Going at a steady seven miles an hour, the team made short work of the field which had been planted months before.
The 5,000 acre estate is divided by the River Teme which cuts through a deep limestone gorge on its way from the Welsh Hills to the Severn Estuary.
The farm extends to an area of 3,500 acres, of which 1,650 acres are in arable cropping, and 1,850 acres in grassland.
Farm manager James Latham said: "The picture was taken last August and the weather was fine, so we decided it was perfect timing to get on with cutting the barley.
"We are still a few weeks off it this year. It is still a bit too green to be cut. We just need some more fine weather to dry it out."
This year the farm, which also has a shoot and sheep and dairy cows, has 600 acres of barley planted they hope the weather will stay good for a bumper harvest.
Temperatures will be cooler today than in recent days and there may be a scattering of light cloud. Weather forecasters predict that heavier cloud could move in over the weekend, bringing lower temperatures. Nights will be cooler too and the weather in general will feel fresh.
