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Castle Howe water level

River gauge, Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria, United Kingdom

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Right now

Very high for mid-October

Water level

1.56m Down 0.04 m over the last 24 hours

0 3 5 Highest onrecord 5.16 m Lowest on record 0.07 m

History

History
1.01.52.0mOct 16Oct 16Oct 16Oct 17Oct 17Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range1.01.52.0mOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
12mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range12mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
12mJanMarMayJulSepNov202612mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

Bassenthwaite Lake at Castle Howe is well above normal at 1.56 m.

That puts it 0.50 m above the median of 1.06 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.96 m (+0.60 m). The record high is 5.16 m, set on December 6, 2015.

It has dropped 0.04 m over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 1.56 m and 1.60 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
1.06 m0.50 m above the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.82 m – 1.55 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.66 m – 2.07 m
Same day last year
0.96 m+0.60 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
1.56 m – 1.60 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.60 m – 2.55 m
Highest on record
5.16 mDecember 6, 2015
Lowest on record
0.07 mMay 5, 2011

Flood levels and safety

A high reading on its own does not mean property is at risk. The warnings issued by the Environment Agency take local defences and the forecast into account.

Readings can change quickly after heavy rain upstream, so check again before heading near the water.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 24 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

17 Sat 11° 3° – Wind 8 km/h
18 Sun 11° 3° – Wind 9 km/h
19 Mon 14° 0° – Wind 18 km/h
20 Tue 12° 2° 2.3 mm, 35% Wind 7 km/h
21 Wed 12° 7° 12 mm, 55% Wind 26 km/h
22 Thu 10° 7° 4.0 mm, 56% Wind 34 km/h
23 Fri 9° 4° 5.8 mm, 86% Wind 36 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:46 AM Sunset 06:12 PM Daylight 10 hr, 26 min First quarter 40%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Ouse BridgeRiver gauge, River Derwent 1.32 m High −0.05 m 1.4 km
Southwaite BridgeRiver gauge, River Cocker 0.71 m High −0.09 m 7.7 km
South Street FootbridgeRiver gauge, River Cocker 1.18 m High −0.08 m 8.0 km
PortinscaleRiver gauge, River Derwent 0.88 m High −0.10 m 8.5 km
Kingfisher, CockermouthRiver gauge, River Derwent 1.12 m Normal −0.05 m 8.6 km
Keswick CampsiteRiver gauge, River Greta 0.89 m High −0.12 m 9.2 km
Greta BridgeRiver gauge, River Greta 1.21 m Normal −0.07 m 9.2 km
Scalehill Upper Lorton ValleyRiver gauge, River Cocker 0.82 m High −0.11 m 11 km

Questions and answers

How does Bassenthwaite Lake at Castle Howe compare with last year?

It is 0.60 m higher than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.96 m.

What is a normal level for Bassenthwaite Lake at Castle Howe in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 1.06 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.82 m and 1.55 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 1.56 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Castle Howe today?

On 17 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST, the water level was 1.56 m. Down 0.04 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Castle Howe rising or falling?

Down 0.04 m over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Castle Howe normal?

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

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Castle Howe?

The highest level on record is 5.16 m on December 6, 2015. The lowest is 0.07 m on May 5, 2011.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:751020 (Agency page)
Coordinates
54.66624, -3.23692 (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 1.56 m 2026-10-17 11:00 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Castle Howe (ea:751020). Accessed October 17, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/cumbria/castle-howe

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.