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Bacons End water level

River gauge, River Cole, West Midlands, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.13m Steady over the last 24 hours

0 1 2 Highest onrecord 1.96 m Lowest on record 0.08 m

History

History
0.10.20.30.4mOct 11Oct 13Oct 15Oct 17Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.10.20.30.4mOct 11Oct 15Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.10.20.30.4mSep 18Sep 26Oct 3Oct 11Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.10.20.30.4mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.51.0mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.51.0mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.51.0mJanMarMayJulSepNov20260.51.0mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

Water level Normal range (10–90 %) Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

Low water at Bacons End: the gauge reads 0.13 m, below normal for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 0.17 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.04 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was 0.11 m, a difference of +0.02 m.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 0.12 m – 0.28 m.

Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.

Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date
0.17 m0.04 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.13 m – 0.34 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.13 m – 0.39 m
Same day last year
0.11 m+0.02 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.12 m – 0.28 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.11 m – 1.26 m
Highest on record
1.96 mJune 15, 2007
Lowest on record
0.08 mJanuary 30, 1976

For anglers and canoeists

Low rivers are hard going for paddlers, with exposed gravel and weirs that are awkward to shoot. Salmon and sea trout usually wait for the next spate to run.

Many angling and canoe clubs check gauges like this one before heading out.

About the River Cole

River Cole, West Midlands

The River Cole is a 25-mile-long (40-kilometre) river in the English Midlands. It rises on the lower slopes of Forhill, one of the south-western ramparts of the Birmingham Plateau, at Red Hill and flows south before flowing largely north-east across the plateau to enter the River Blythe below Coleshill, near Ladywalk, shortly before the Blythe meets the Tame. This then joins the Trent, whose waters reach the North Sea via the Humber Estuary. Its source is very near the main watershed of Midland England: tributaries are few and very short except in the lower reaches, so the Cole is only a small stream. The stretch between Shard End and Tyseley formed part of the historic border between Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Read more on Wikipedia

Text and image from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 3.1 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 12° 5° – Wind 19 km/h
19 Mon 13° 8° 3.0 mm, 88% Wind 19 km/h
20 Tue 12° 7° 9.9 mm, 71% Wind 8 km/h
21 Wed 10° 6° 1.8 mm, 53% Wind 19 km/h
22 Thu 13° 5° 2.0 mm, 47% Wind 15 km/h
23 Fri 8° 6° 17 mm, 69% Wind 26 km/h
24 Sat 10° 4° 0.9 mm, 53% Wind 27 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:38 AM Sunset 06:08 PM Daylight 10 hr, 30 min First quarter 52%

Map

Other gauges on the River Cole

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Swans BarnRiver gauge, River Cole 0.87 m Normal −0.03 m 3.2 km
Solihull LodgeRiver gauge, River Cole 0.26 m Normal ±0 13 km
IngleshamRiver gauge, River Cole 0.05 m Low −0.02 m 90 km
Lower StrattonRiver gauge, River Cole 1.96 m Normal −0.01 m 102 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Castle FarmRiver gauge, River Blythe 0.64 m Normal −0.07 m 3.2 km
Water OrtonRiver gauge, River Tame 0.21 m Low −0.01 m 4.2 km
Lea MarstonRiver gauge, River Tame 0.35 m Normal +0.01 m 6.8 km
Brookvale RoadRiver gauge, River Tame 0.51 m Normal −0.02 m 11 km
Calthorpe ParkRiver gauge, River Rea 0.08 m Very low ±0 12 km
Perry ParkRiver gauge, River Tame 0.44 m Normal −0.01 m 13 km
Cheswick GreenRiver gauge, River Blythe 0.24 m Low ±0 13 km
Selly ParkRiver gauge, River Rea −0.04 m Lowest on record ±0 13 km

Questions and answers

Is the River Cole at Bacons End higher than last year?

Yes, it is 0.02 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.11 m.

What is a normal level for the River Cole at Bacons End in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.17 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.13 m and 0.34 m, based on 21 years of records.

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 0.13 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Bacons End today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 21:00 BST, the water level was 0.13 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Bacons End rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours. Steady over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Bacons End normal?

Low for mid-October. Compared with 21 years of daily readings for this time of year.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Bacons End?

The highest level on record is 1.96 m on June 15, 2007. The lowest is 0.08 m on January 30, 1976.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:4066 (Agency page)
Coordinates
52.48421, -1.73194 (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

ParameterLast valueTime (UTC)Quality
Water level 0.13 m 2026-10-18 20:00 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Bacons End (ea:4066). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/west-midlands/bacons-end

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.