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Thornborough water level

River gauge, River Great Ouse, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

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Right now

Below the normal range

Water level

0.30m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.5 1.0 Highest onrecord 1.24 m Lowest on record 0.15 m

History

History
0.290.300.310.32mOct 11Oct 13Oct 14Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.290.300.310.32mOct 11Oct 14Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.260.280.300.32mSep 18Sep 25Oct 3Oct 10Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.260.280.300.32mSep 18Oct 3Oct 17Bottom of normal range
Water level Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

Low water at Thornborough: the gauge reads 0.30 m, below normal.

The usual range here runs from 0.32 m to 0.62 m.

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 0.26 m – 0.33 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
0.32 m – 0.62 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.26 m – 0.33 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.27 m – 0.31 m
Highest on record
1.24 mDecember 14, 1979
Lowest on record
0.15 mSeptember 10, 1990

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 Great Ouse

River Great Ouse

The River Great Ouse is a river in England, the fifth longest in the United Kingdom, and longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". It flows mostly north and east, from Syresham in Northamptonshire, through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, before draining into the Wash and the North Sea near Kings Lynn. Authorities disagree both on the river's source and its length, with one quoting 160 mi (260 km) and another 143 mi (230 km). The Great Ouse has been historically important for commercial navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows; its best-known tributary is the Cam, which runs through Cambridge. Its lower course passes through drained wetlands and fens and has been extensively modified, or channelised, to relieve flooding, stabilise its path, and provide a better route for barge traffic.

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

18 Sun 12° 6° 2.8 mm, 57% Wind 23 km/h
19 Mon 14° 9° 3.6 mm, 95% Wind 21 km/h
20 Tue 12° 9° 13 mm, 71% Wind 12 km/h
21 Wed 13° 6° 3.6 mm, 54% Wind 25 km/h
22 Thu 13° 5° 0.5 mm, 48% Wind 18 km/h
23 Fri 9° 6° 26 mm, 76% Wind 33 km/h
24 Sat 10° 3° – Wind 27 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:34 AM Sunset 06:05 PM Daylight 10 hr, 32 min First quarter 48%

Map

Other gauges on the River Great Ouse

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
BuckinghamRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.13 m Normal −0.01 m 4.4 km
PassenhamRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 2.18 m Normal −0.01 m 6.8 km
Stony StratfordRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.13 m Low ±0 7.0 km
HavershamRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.19 m Normal ±0 11 km
BrackleyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.20 m Normal −0.01 m 14 km
Newport PagnellRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.15 m Low −0.01 m 17 km
Newport Pagnell CemeteryRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.03 m Very low −0.03 m 17 km
OlneyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.08 m Normal −0.01 m 21 km
TurveyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.27 m Normal −0.01 m 26 km
BromhamRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 29.00 m Normal +0.02 m 32 km
BedfordRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.28 m Normal +0.01 m 35 km
SharnbrookRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.18 m Normal ±0 36 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
CappenhamRiver gauge, River Tove 0.11 m Very low ±0 14 km
TowcesterRiver gauge, River Tove 0.18 m Low −0.02 m 15 km
BletchleyRiver gauge, River Ouzel 0.24 m Low ±0 15 km
Grendon UnderwoodRiver gauge, River Ray 0.03 m Low ±0 15 km
WillenRiver gauge, River Ouzel 0.26 m Low ±0 16 km

Questions and answers

What is the typical range for the River Great Ouse at Thornborough?

The Environment Agency gives a typical range of 0.32 m to 0.62 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 0.30 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Thornborough today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 08:00 BST, the water level was 0.30 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Thornborough rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Thornborough normal?

Below the normal range. Compared with the normal range the agency publishes for this gauge.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Thornborough?

The highest level on record is 1.24 m on December 14, 1979. The lowest is 0.15 m on September 10, 1990.

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:E60901 (Agency page)
Coordinates
52.01149, -0.93090 (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 0.30 m 2026-10-18 07:00 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: Thornborough (ea:E60901). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/buckinghamshire/thornborough

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.