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SwedenCrayford water level
River gauge, River Cray, Greater London, United Kingdom
Right now
Within the normal range
Water level
History
What this means
The River Cray at Crayford is at 0.18 m, within its typical range.
The usual range here runs from 0.08 m to 0.90 m.
It has risen 0.04 m over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.12 m and 0.27 m.
Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.
Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge. How to read levels
Key numbers
- Normal range
- 0.08 m – 0.90 m
- Lowest and highest in 30 days
- 0.12 m – 0.27 m
- Lowest and highest in 12 months
- 0.13 m – 0.19 m
- Highest on record
- 1.32 mDecember 24, 2013
- Lowest on record
- 0.03 mOctober 1, 1997
Fishing and paddling
Paddlers and anglers can expect the river much as they know it, though a heavy shower upstream can change that within hours.
Flood alerts and warnings come from the Environment Agency.
About the River Cray
The River Cray is the largest tributary of the River Darent. It is the prime river of outer, south-east Greater London, rising in Priory Gardens, Orpington, where rainwater percolates through the chalk bedrock of the Downs to form a pond where the eroded ground elevation gives way to impermeable clay. Initially it flows true to form northwards, past industrial and residential St Mary Cray, through St Paul's Cray and through Foots Cray, where it enters the parkland Foots Cray Meadows, flowing under by Five Arches bridge. It then flows by restored Loring Hall (c.1760), home of the Lord Castlereagh who killed himself there in 1822. It continues through North Cray and Bexley. It neighbours a restored Gothic (architecture) cold plunge bath house, built around 1766 as part of Vale Mascal Estate. It is then joined by the River Shuttle and then continues through the parkland of Hall Place, which was built for John Champneys in 1540. The Cray turns eastward through Crayford and Barnes Cray to join the Darent in Dartford Creek. The Creek is a well-watered partly tidal inlet between Crayford Marshes and Dartford Marshes by a slight projection of land, Crayford Ness. The villages through which the Cray flows are collectively known as "The Crays".
Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.
Weather at the gauge
Rain in the last 3 days: 3.2 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.
Forecast: Open-Meteo
Map
Other gauges on the River Cray
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall PlaceRiver gauge, River Cray | 0.02 m | Low | ±0 | 1.1 km |
Nearby gauges
| Gauge | Level | Compared with normal | 24 hours | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamorbey ParkRiver gauge, Shuttle Tributary Cray | −2.20 m | No reference yet | −0.07 m | 4.3 km |
| HawleyRiver gauge, River Darent | 0.05 m | Normal | ±0 | 5.0 km |
| Sweeps LaneGroundwater well | 43.59 m | Normal | ±0 | 7.5 km |
| Hazelmere RoadRiver gauge, Kyd Brook | 0.57 m | Normal | +0.01 m | 9.0 km |
| Gosshill RoadRiver gauge, Kyd Brook | 0.53 m | Normal | ±0 | 9.4 km |
| Lower CamdenRiver gauge, Kyd Brook | 0.90 m | Normal | +0.02 m | 9.5 km |
| Woodlands RoadRiver gauge, Kyd Brook | 1.19 m | High | +0.02 m | 9.6 km |
| Kydbrook CloseRiver gauge, Kyd Brook | 0.41 m | Very low | +0.01 m | 10 km |
Questions and answers
What is the typical range for the River Cray at Crayford?
The Environment Agency gives a typical range of 0.08 m to 0.90 m for this gauge.
Is the river level the same as the depth of the water?
No. The reading is measured from a fixed zero mark at the gauge, so 0.18 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.
What is the water level of Crayford today?
On 19 Oct 2026, 06:00 BST, the water level was 0.18 m. Up 0.04 m over the last 24 hours.
Is Crayford rising or falling?
Up 0.04 m over the last 24 hours. Up 0.05 m over the last 7 days.
Is the level of Crayford normal?
Within the normal range. Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge.
What is the highest water level ever recorded at Crayford?
The highest level on record is 1.32 m on December 24, 2013. The lowest is 0.03 m on October 1, 1997.
How often is this data updated?
The Environment Agency publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.
For specialists
Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
- Operator
- Environment Agency
- Station code
ea:E15260(Agency page)- Coordinates
51.45040, 0.17329(WGS84)- Vertical datum
- station datum
- Update interval
- every 15 minutes
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Environment Agency data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Published series
| Parameter | Last value | Time (UTC) | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water level | 0.18 m | 2026-10-19 05:00 | Provisional |
Download
Embed this gauge
Add a live card for this gauge to your website. It updates on its own and links back here.
How to cite
Environment Agency: Crayford (ea:E15260). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/greater-london/crayford
How we check values
Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.
Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer