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Bolton Percy water level

River gauge, River Wharfe, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Directions

Right now

Low for mid-October

Surface elevation

5.12m Steady over the last 24 hours

5 6 8 Highest onrecord 8.32 m Lowest on record 5.07 m

History

History
5.15.25.3mOct 11Oct 13Oct 15Oct 16Oct 18Bottom of normal range5.15.25.3mOct 11Oct 15Oct 18Bottom of normal range
5.15.25.3mSep 18Sep 26Oct 3Oct 11Oct 18Bottom of normal range5.15.25.3mSep 18Oct 3Oct 18Bottom of normal range
567mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range567mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
5.05.56.06.5mJanMarMayJulSepNov20265.05.56.06.5mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

Surface elevation Normal range (10–90 %) Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

At 5.12 m, the River Wharfe at Bolton Percy is below normal for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is 5.14 m, based on 21 years of readings, so the river level is 0.02 m below typical. A year ago it stood at 5.12 m as well.

It has barely moved over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly.

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
5.14 m0.02 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
5.10 m – 5.32 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (21 years of records)
Normal range
5.38 m – 7.45 m
Same day last year
5.12 m0.00 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
5.12 m – 5.12 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
5.11 m – 6.73 m
Highest on record
8.32 mNovember 3, 2000
Lowest on record
5.07 mDecember 6, 2014

On the river at Bolton Percy

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 Wharfe

River Wharfe

The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England originating within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. For much of its middle course it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. Its valley is known as Wharfedale.

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

18 Sun 12° 6° 0.1 mm Wind 20 km/h
19 Mon 14° 9° 4.4 mm, 100% Wind 23 km/h
20 Tue 12° 11° 16 mm, 78% Wind 14 km/h
21 Wed 13° 7° 6.0 mm, 76% Wind 23 km/h
22 Thu 11° 4° – Wind 15 km/h
23 Fri 9° 6° 17 mm, 88% Wind 31 km/h
24 Sat 11° 5° 2.8 mm, 37% Wind 21 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:38 AM Sunset 06:03 PM Daylight 10 hr, 25 min First quarter 52%

Map

Other gauges on the River Wharfe

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Nun Appleton Fleet Pumping StationRiver gauge, River Wharfe 2.04 m No reference yet −0.13 m 2.6 km
Cock Beck SluicesRiver gauge, River Wharfe 3.62 m Low −0.11 m 4.2 km
TadcasterRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.22 m Normal −0.02 m 6.3 km
Flint MillRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.60 m Normal −0.03 m 13 km
CollinghamRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.53 m Normal −0.08 m 16 km
ArthingtonRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.43 m Normal −0.07 m 24 km
Pool BridgeRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.16 m Normal −0.06 m 29 km
OtleyRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.39 m Low −0.02 m 33 km
IlkleyRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.19 m Normal −0.03 m 42 km
AddinghamRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.33 m Low −0.06 m 45 km
Netherside HallRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.47 m Normal −0.04 m 60 km
KettlewellRiver gauge, River Wharfe 0.29 m Low −0.04 m 64 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Nun Appleton Fleet Pumping StationRiver gauge, The Fleet 0.44 m Normal −0.04 m 2.6 km
Naburn LockRiver gauge, River Ouse 0.61 m Low −0.05 m 7.0 km
Bramham ScreensRiver gauge, Bramham Beck 0.18 m Normal ±0 11 km
Selby Dam Pumping StationRiver gauge, Selby Dam 2.02 m High ±0 12 km
York Foss BarrierRiver gauge, River Ouse 5.21 m Normal −0.05 m 12 km
York Foss BarrierRiver gauge, Browney Dyke 5.22 m Normal −0.04 m 12 km
HolgateRiver gauge, Holgate Beck 0.02 m Normal ±0 12 km
York Castle Mills SluicesRiver gauge, River Foss 7.57 m Normal ±0 13 km

Questions and answers

Is the River Wharfe at Bolton Percy higher than last year?

It is about the same as on this day last year, when the reading was 5.12 m.

What is a normal level for the River Wharfe at Bolton Percy in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 5.14 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 5.10 m and 5.32 m, based on 21 years of records.

Is Bolton Percy really 5.12 m deep?

No. 5.12 m is the height of the water surface above sea level (or the agency's vertical datum), not the depth of the water.

What is the water level of Bolton Percy today?

On 18 Oct 2026, 18:45 BST, the surface elevation was 5.12 m. Steady over the last 24 hours.

Is Bolton Percy rising or falling?

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

Is the level of Bolton Percy 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 Bolton Percy?

The highest level on record is 8.32 m on November 3, 2000. The lowest is 5.07 m on December 6, 2014.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:L2013 (Agency page)
Coordinates
53.86325, -1.19212 (WGS84)
Vertical datum
ODN
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
Surface elevation 5.12 m 2026-10-18 17:45 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Bolton Percy (ea:L2013). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/north-yorkshire/bolton-percy

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.