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Castle Mill water level

River gauge, River Great Ouse, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Lower than ever recorded here

Water level

0.12m Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours

0.5 1.0 Highest onrecord 1.12 m Lowest on record 0.12 m

History

0.130.150.18mOct 11Oct 13Oct 14Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.130.150.18mOct 11Oct 14Oct 18Bottom of normal range
0.130.150.18mSep 18Sep 26Oct 3Oct 10Oct 18Bottom of normal range0.130.150.18mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Bottom of normal range
Water level Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

Low water at Castle Mill: the gauge reads 0.12 m, at a record low.

That is below the previous record low of 0.12 m (November 16, 2007), so the gauge is setting a new low. The usual range here runs from 0.19 m to 0.26 m.

It is still going down, by 0.01 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. The 30-day range is 0.11 m – 0.16 m.

Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.

Compared with the highest and lowest levels the agency has recorded at this gauge. How to read levels

Key numbers

Normal range
0.19 m – 0.26 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
0.11 m – 0.16 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
0.12 m – 0.14 m
Highest on record
1.12 mFebruary 11, 2024
Lowest on record
0.12 mNovember 16, 2007
Lowest on record
0.00 m below the lowest level on record

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

18 Sun 14° 7° 3.1 mm, 64% Wind 23 km/h
19 Mon 14° 10° 3.2 mm, 100% Wind 16 km/h
20 Tue 12° 10° 9.0 mm, 63% Wind 13 km/h
21 Wed 14° 7° 3.3 mm, 53% Wind 22 km/h
22 Thu 14° 5° 0.2 mm, 34% Wind 18 km/h
23 Fri 10° 7° 29 mm, 67% Wind 34 km/h
24 Sat 11° 3° – Wind 26 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:32 AM Sunset 06:03 PM Daylight 10 hr, 31 min First quarter 49%

Map

Other gauges on the River Great Ouse

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
CardingtonRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 1.25 m Low +0.01 m 2.7 km
BedfordRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.28 m Normal ±0 3.9 km
RoxtonRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.29 m Low +0.01 m 7.0 km
BromhamRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 29.00 m Normal +0.02 m 7.9 km
Eaton SoconRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.04 m Normal ±0 11 km
SharnbrookRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.18 m Normal −0.01 m 11 km
St NeotsRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.86 m Normal −0.03 m 15 km
TurveyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.28 m Normal +0.02 m 15 km
OffordRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.47 m Normal −0.03 m 19 km
OlneyRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.08 m Normal −0.01 m 21 km
Newport Pagnell CemeteryRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.03 m Lowest on record −0.01 m 22 km
Newport PagnellRiver gauge, River Great Ouse 0.15 m Low −0.01 m 22 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
BlunhamRiver gauge, River Ivel 0.19 m Very low −0.02 m 6.1 km
BiggleswadeRiver gauge, River Ivel 0.16 m Normal +0.02 m 12 km
SheffordRiver gauge, River Flit 0.22 m Low −0.01 m 13 km
RiseleyRiver gauge, River Kym 0.28 m Normal ±0 13 km

Questions and answers

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 0.12 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of Castle Mill today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST, the water level was 0.12 m. Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Castle Mill rising or falling?

Down 0.01 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.01 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Castle Mill normal?

Lower than ever recorded here. Compared with the highest and lowest levels the agency has recorded at this gauge.

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

The highest level on record is 1.12 m on February 11, 2024. The lowest is 0.12 m on November 16, 2007.

How often is this data updated?

The Environment Agency publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

Where does this data come from?

The values come directly from the Environment Agency, the official operator of this gauge, and are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We do not estimate or model live values.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:E21034 (Agency page)
Coordinates
52.14560, -0.40556 (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 0.12 m 2026-10-18 11:00 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: Castle Mill (ea:E21034). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/bedfordshire/castle-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.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer