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Bull Gill water level

River gauge, River Ellen, Cumbria, United Kingdom

Directions

Normal for mid-October

Water level

0.44m Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours

0 1 2 Highest onrecord 2.51 m Lowest on record 0.20 m

History

0.40.6mOct 11Oct 13Oct 15Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.40.6mOct 11Oct 15Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.51.01.5mSep 18Sep 26Oct 3Oct 10Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.51.01.5mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
0.51.01.5mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range0.51.01.5mOct 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

Water levels are unremarkable at Bull Gill, where the gauge shows 0.44 m.

That puts it 0.04 m above the median of 0.40 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.36 m (+0.08 m).

It is still going down, by 0.03 m over the past 24 hours. The 30-day range is 0.33 m – 1.10 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
0.40 m0.04 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.33 m – 0.54 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.24 m – 1.50 m
Same day last year
0.36 m+0.08 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.33 m – 1.10 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.25 m – 1.36 m
Highest on record
2.51 mDecember 5, 2015
Lowest on record
0.20 mJuly 28, 1976

For anglers and canoeists

This is an ordinary level for the river: most put-ins, beats and weirs behave as they usually do.

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

About the River Ellen

River Ellen

The Ellen is a river in the English county of Cumbria, flowing from Skiddaw in the Northern Fells to the Solway Firth at Maryport. It was historically in the county of Cumberland. It is approximately 25 miles (40.2 km) in length.

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

17 Sat 11° 1° – Wind 8 km/h
18 Sun 11° 1° – Wind 13 km/h
19 Mon 14° 2° – Wind 17 km/h
20 Tue 13° 6° 1.2 mm, 55% Wind 8 km/h
21 Wed 10° 5° 2.4 mm, 73% Wind 16 km/h
22 Thu 11° 3° 5.7 mm, 67% Wind 14 km/h
23 Fri 7° 3° 17 mm, 89% Wind 18 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:49 AM Sunset 06:10 PM Daylight 10 hr, 22 min First quarter 49%

Map

Other gauges on the River Ellen

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Blennerhasset BridgeRiver gauge, River Ellen 0.69 m Normal −0.01 m 8.8 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Kingfisher, CockermouthRiver gauge, River Derwent 1.05 m Normal −0.07 m 8.0 km
South Street FootbridgeRiver gauge, River Cocker 1.13 m Normal −0.05 m 8.3 km
Southwaite BridgeRiver gauge, River Cocker 0.62 m High −0.08 m 11 km
Seaton Mill, Barepot, WorkingtonRiver gauge, River Derwent 0.72 m Normal −0.04 m 12 km
Ouse BridgeRiver gauge, River Derwent 1.23 m High −0.08 m 12 km
Castle HoweRiver gauge, Bassenthwaite Lake 1.46 m High −0.09 m 13 km
Harrington Eadie StreetRiver gauge, Wyre River 0.24 m Low −0.01 m 17 km
Scalehill Upper Lorton ValleyRiver gauge, River Cocker 0.73 m High −0.09 m 18 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Ellen at Bull Gill compare with last year?

It is 0.08 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.36 m.

What is a normal level for the River Ellen at Bull Gill in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.40 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.33 m and 0.54 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 0.44 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Bull Gill today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 12:45 BST, the water level was 0.44 m. Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Bull Gill rising or falling?

Down 0.03 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.02 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Bull Gill normal?

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

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Bull Gill?

The highest level on record is 2.51 m on December 5, 2015. The lowest is 0.20 m on July 28, 1976.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:754016 (Agency page)
Coordinates
54.73240, -3.40539 (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 0.44 m 2026-10-18 11:45 Provisional

Download

Embed this gauge

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Bull Gill (ea:754016). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/cumbria/bull-gill

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