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Salisbury Bourne water level

River gauge, River Bourne, Wiltshire, United Kingdom

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Right now

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.69m Steady over the last 24 hours

0.5 1.0 1.5 Highest onrecord 1.83 m Lowest on record 0.57 m

History

History
0.70.80.9mOct 11Oct 13Oct 14Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.70.80.9mOct 11Oct 14Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.70.80.9mSep 18Sep 25Oct 3Oct 10Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.70.80.9mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Bottom of normal range
1.01.5mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range1.01.5mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
1.01.5mJanMarMayJulSepNov20261.01.5mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

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

What this means

At 0.69 m, the River Bourne at Salisbury Bourne is below normal for mid-October.

That puts it 0.08 m below the median of 0.77 m for mid-October, based on 21 years of readings. A year ago it stood at 0.73 m (−0.04 m).

The level has held steady over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 0.69 m and 0.72 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
0.77 m0.08 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
0.67 m – 0.89 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
0.65 m – 1.22 m
Same day last year
0.73 m−0.04 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.69 m – 0.72 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.69 m – 1.63 m
Highest on record
1.83 mJanuary 7, 2024
Lowest on record
0.57 mOctober 7, 2005

On the river at Salisbury Bourne

Low, clear water makes fish wary, and anglers often do better early and late in the day. For canoeists, shallow riffles mean scraped hulls and the odd portage.

Flood warnings for the area come from the Environment Agency.

About the River Bourne

River Bourne, Wiltshire

The River Bourne is a river in the English county of Wiltshire, a tributary of the Salisbury Avon. It flows in a generally southerly direction for about 48 km. In its upper reaches the river is a winterbourne, often dry in summer.

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

18 Sun 13° 7° – Wind 18 km/h
19 Mon 14° 8° 3.8 mm, 77% Wind 16 km/h
20 Tue 13° 10° 14 mm, 90% Wind 12 km/h
21 Wed 13° 6° 2.1 mm, 55% Wind 30 km/h
22 Thu 15° 5° 2.9 mm, 84% Wind 16 km/h
23 Fri 10° 7° 27 mm, 79% Wind 36 km/h
24 Sat 10° 5° 1.4 mm, 60% Wind 25 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:36 AM Sunset 06:10 PM Daylight 10 hr, 35 min First quarter 49%

Map

Other gauges on the River Bourne

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
IdmistonRiver gauge, River Bourne −0.21 m Lowest on record ±0 9.2 km
Shipton BellingerRiver gauge, River Bourne −0.06 m Lowest on record ±0 18 km
Tidworth Manor BridgeRiver gauge, River Bourne 0.00 m Normal ±0 22 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Salisbury Harnham BridgeRiver gauge, River Avon 0.27 m Low −0.01 m 1.0 km
Salisbury Ashley RoadRiver gauge, River Avon 0.15 m Normal ±0 2.3 km
Nunton BridgeRiver gauge, River Ebble 0.43 m Low ±0 3.0 km
ClarendonGroundwater well 55.99 m Normal ±0 4.0 km
OdstockGroundwater well 48.26 m Normal −0.04 m 5.3 km
WiltonRiver gauge, River Nadder 0.09 m Low ±0 6.0 km
WindwhistleGroundwater well 0.38 m Normal ±0 7.3 km
Downton Iron BridgeRiver gauge, River Avon 0.04 m Normal ±0 8.0 km

Questions and answers

How does the River Bourne at Salisbury Bourne compare with last year?

It is 0.04 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was 0.73 m.

What is a normal level for the River Bourne at Salisbury Bourne in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.77 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.67 m and 0.89 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 0.69 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Salisbury Bourne today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 11:45 BST, the water level was 0.69 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Salisbury Bourne rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Salisbury Bourne 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 Salisbury Bourne?

The highest level on record is 1.83 m on January 7, 2024. The lowest is 0.57 m on October 7, 2005.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:43159 (Agency page)
Coordinates
51.06283, -1.77975 (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 0.69 m 2026-10-18 10:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Salisbury Bourne (ea:43159). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/wiltshire/salisbury-bourne

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.