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Walford Mill water level

River gauge, River Allen, Dorset, United Kingdom

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Right now

Very low for mid-October

Water level

0.08m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.0 0.5 1.0 Highest onrecord 1.11 m Lowest on record 0.04 m

History

History
0.20.4mOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Oct 17Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.20.4mOct 16Oct 17Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
-0.00.51.0mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-0.00.51.0mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
-0.00.51.0mJanMarMayJulSepNov2026-0.00.51.0mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

Low water at Walford Mill: the gauge reads 0.08 m, far below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.08 m below the median of 0.16 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.09 m (−0.01 m). The lowest reading on record is 0.04 m (August 22, 1995).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly.

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
0.16 m0.08 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.10 m – 0.29 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.09 m – 0.55 m
Same day last year
0.09 m−0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.08 m – 0.08 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.07 m – 1.00 m
Highest on record
1.11 mJanuary 30, 2026
Lowest on record
0.04 mAugust 22, 1995

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 Allen

River Allen, Northumberland

The River Allen is a river in the English county of Northumberland. The river has its sources in the hills of the Northern Pennines, and is formed by the confluence of the East and West Allen rivers. The Allen is a tributary of the River South Tyne, which itself, a tributary of the River Tyne. The Allen was formerly very polluted from mining activity upstream, but remediation schemes have been implemented to allow the water quality to improve.

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: 2.9 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

18 Sun 13° 6° – Wind 19 km/h
19 Mon 14° 8° 3.7 mm, 83% Wind 18 km/h
20 Tue 12° 8° 6.6 mm, 84% Wind 10 km/h
21 Wed 14° 6° 1.8 mm, 41% Wind 32 km/h
22 Thu 15° 6° 5.8 mm, 86% Wind 16 km/h
23 Fri 10° 7° 27 mm, 86% Wind 36 km/h
24 Sat 11° 5° 1.4 mm, 63% Wind 24 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:36 AM Sunset 06:12 PM Daylight 10 hr, 36 min First quarter 50%

Map

Other gauges on the River Allen

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Loverley FarmRiver gauge, River Allen 0.43 m Very low ±0 7.9 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
WimborneRiver gauge, River Stour 0.39 m Low ±0 2.3 km
Badbury RingsGroundwater well 21.65 m Lowest on record +0.02 m 4.4 km
Sturminster Marshall Maggs BridgeRiver gauge, River Winterbourne 0.02 m Normal ±0 6.6 km
Horton InnGroundwater well 0.42 m Low +0.01 m 7.9 km
Ferndown Tricketts CrossRiver gauge, Uddens Water 0.34 m Normal −0.01 m 8.3 km
ThroopRiver gauge, River Stour 0.32 m Low −0.01 m 11 km
Hurn CourtRiver gauge, Moors River 0.22 m Low −0.01 m 12 km
BlandfordRiver gauge, River Stour 0.05 m Lowest on record −0.02 m 13 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Allen at Walford Mill compare with last year?

It is 0.01 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.09 m.

What is a normal level for the River Allen at Walford Mill in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.16 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.10 m and 0.29 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 0.08 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Walford Mill today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 13:45 BST, the water level was 0.08 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Walford Mill rising or falling?

Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Walford Mill normal?

Very 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 Walford Mill?

The highest level on record is 1.11 m on January 30, 2026. The lowest is 0.04 m on August 22, 1995.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:43216 (Agency page)
Coordinates
50.80585, -1.99001 (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 0.08 m 2026-10-18 12:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Walford Mill (ea:43216). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/dorset/walford-mill

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.