Help
All you need to know
Whenever you need to know about the state of your nearest - or any other - river, whether as an angler, angling association, boater, walker, local resident, local water authority or any other agency involved in UK and Ireland rivers, this site shows you what your river looks like, right now. It also provides all the local information you could need about water levels, rainfall, tide heights and the weather, both historic and current.
Non-account holder or account holder?
This website is free for use for those of you who want some very basic information and a sight of what your selected river is looking like at the moment - or within the last 30 minutes. If you want more information, or want to save your favourite locations, look at historical data, get special alerts about your river whenever water levels move above or below set points - and much more - you will need to become a subscriber. The good news is that all this will cost you only £24 per year.
This guidance
In this 'help' section we guide you in the use of the website. The guidance is aimed at account holders but can be followed by non-account holders too. The difference - as you will find out - is that non-account holders are only provided with information that they could find freely elsewhere for themselves. More specialist information (water temperature, clarity, rainfall, discharge patterns etc) and photo archive material which we draw together as a service for all our river users, requires you to take out a subscription. You will see the 'Go Pro' orange flag come up when you try to access subscription-only material. We highly recommend you to 'Go Pro' and receive the full package of available information. It's great value for a lot of information at your finger tips.
First choose your river location
The first step is to find the river location you want. Start by clicking on one of the six regional maps shown on the home page. These show the sites of the river webcams (orange icons) and the gauging stations, where various measurements are made locally (the purple icons). The site will then move on to show you a 'thumbnail gallery' of the webcams in the region you have selected. These thumbnail images are all 'live cam' pictures of the river locations. And each picture is updated every 15 minutes.
Enlarge the image for your core information
Click on the main thumbnail image at the named location of your choice to get a clear view of the most recent picture of the river, this refreshes every 10 seconds. Above the central image there are two menus - the top one offering data service information; the other (at the top of the picture itself) offering alternative views of the main image, plus a local map with a zoom facility. Below the main picture you see some time period options which allow you to check the river, and accompanying data, over a 28-day, 3-day and 24-hour time period.
How to select different time periods
At the bottom of the picture is a time menu. Just click the 28-day, 3,day or 24-hour box to select images taken once a day over a 28-day period, once an hour over a 3-day period, or every ten minutes over a 24-hour period. Non-account holders will find that they can only access the last 30 minutes of pictures in increments of 10 minutes, before being asked to 'Go Pro'!
If you press the 'play' arrow on the left hand-side the server will roll forward images at time intervals which reflect the time period you have selected. You can stop the camera by pressing the pause button. Alternatively, if you click on the 'Live Now' tab on the right hand-side, you can drag the cursor back manually through the images to see the river at different times.
The data services menu
Above the picture is your menu of data services - we call them 'widgets' (in time, we may be adding all kinds of new and useful information and you can adjust your own settings to keep whatever you want with your own favourite location information). These provide really useful information, as follows:
Met Office: This carries a graph showing temperature and pressure variations for the time period you have selected. If you run your cursor along the graph you are provided with boxed information showing the temperatures and pressures at different times during your selected period.
River Levels & Rainfall: This provides a record of the current and recent rainfall and water levels. Again, you can use your cursor to get specific, timed information at intervals representing the time period you have selected. If you click on the arrow on the right hand-side of the boxes (with the name of your river location and other details) you are offered information about several other gauging station sites in your locality. As a subscriber you can click on these to pick up more detailed information. You can see that in each box on the drop down menu there is a column showing a mileage figure - the mileage figures represent 'as the crow flies' distances from the gauging station indicated to the camera at your selected river location.
Tides: The tides information shows the tide height at a location which is nearest to your river site. On the graph, the tide heights are shown in millimetres. If you use your cursor you can trace information along the graph showing the heights in feet and inches, at different time intervals. Another useful tip is to use the 'historic/forecast' option, on the right hand-side of the graph towards the top, to switch between graphs showing tides for the time periods you have selected (historic) or for the next three days (forecast). Again, run your cursor along the graph line to pick up time/height information for this period.
Weather Forecast: This is self-explanatory - here's all you need to know for 'at a glance' local weather information at your river site for the next five days.
The picture menu
Above the picture there are three menus: Local Map, Main Live Image and Timeline, and Zoomed Image for Water Levels.
Local Map: This is useful for you to see all the gauging stations in your selected locality. You can click on these from the map as an alternative way of gaining comparative local information about rainfall and water levels at the gauging stations near your river. You can also use the button in the top right corner to change the map from a 'map' to a 'satellite' view.
Main Live Image and Timeline: By clicking this you return immediately to the main image with the timeline options.
Zoomed Image for Water Levels: Click this box to see a close-up picture of the river to get a better view of water levels. A water level gauge is usually shown to indicate the current height of the water. In a 23-day time period the water level images are shown once a day usually at 1300 hrs; in the 3-day and 24-hour time periods, the zoomed images are shown at one-hour intervals.
Make use of the dashboard
The dashboard is your means of personalising your account and accessing relevant information easily and quickly each time you log on. You can edit your account and you can also set up alerts so that you will be fed information directly to your registered email account when the water level rises or falls above or below a set value which you can select. Just click on the 'Set up alert' button and the process is quick and self-explanatory. As a subscriber you can set up alerts for three sites of your choice.
There is also a box called 'My Saved Locations' on the dashboard. This allows you to save the thumbnails of selected river cam locations so that you can go directly to your preferred locations from the dashboard whenever you log on. You can save a location when you are viewing the main image of a selected river site. On the left hand-side of the screen there is a list showing nearby gauging stations and cameras. Underneath is a box with a plus sign and the words, 'Add to my locations'. Click this to add this location to your dashboard. You have the option of removing the thumbnail from the saved locations whenever you revisit the main image.
The dashboard also saves the thumbnail image of the last location that you visited so that you can pick up directly where you left off when you return to the website.
Contact us with your questions
We are very happy to answer any more specific questions you may have about this site and to receive any comments or feedback. Our purpose is to provide a really useful service for you and to develop the site by adding new data services and additional features. Please go to the 'Contact us' button on the dashboard to ask us for information and provide feedback.
Non-account holder or account holder?
This website is free for use for those of you who want some very basic information and a sight of what your selected river is looking like at the moment - or within the last 30 minutes. If you want more information, or want to save your favourite locations, look at historical data, get special alerts about your river whenever water levels move above or below set points - and much more - you will need to become a subscriber. The good news is that all this will cost you only £24 per year.
This guidance
In this 'help' section we guide you in the use of the website. The guidance is aimed at account holders but can be followed by non-account holders too. The difference - as you will find out - is that non-account holders are only provided with information that they could find freely elsewhere for themselves. More specialist information (water temperature, clarity, rainfall, discharge patterns etc) and photo archive material which we draw together as a service for all our river users, requires you to take out a subscription. You will see the 'Go Pro' orange flag come up when you try to access subscription-only material. We highly recommend you to 'Go Pro' and receive the full package of available information. It's great value for a lot of information at your finger tips.
First choose your river location
The first step is to find the river location you want. Start by clicking on one of the six regional maps shown on the home page. These show the sites of the river webcams (orange icons) and the gauging stations, where various measurements are made locally (the purple icons). The site will then move on to show you a 'thumbnail gallery' of the webcams in the region you have selected. These thumbnail images are all 'live cam' pictures of the river locations. And each picture is updated every 15 minutes.
Enlarge the image for your core information
Click on the main thumbnail image at the named location of your choice to get a clear view of the most recent picture of the river, this refreshes every 10 seconds. Above the central image there are two menus - the top one offering data service information; the other (at the top of the picture itself) offering alternative views of the main image, plus a local map with a zoom facility. Below the main picture you see some time period options which allow you to check the river, and accompanying data, over a 28-day, 3-day and 24-hour time period.
How to select different time periods
At the bottom of the picture is a time menu. Just click the 28-day, 3,day or 24-hour box to select images taken once a day over a 28-day period, once an hour over a 3-day period, or every ten minutes over a 24-hour period. Non-account holders will find that they can only access the last 30 minutes of pictures in increments of 10 minutes, before being asked to 'Go Pro'!
If you press the 'play' arrow on the left hand-side the server will roll forward images at time intervals which reflect the time period you have selected. You can stop the camera by pressing the pause button. Alternatively, if you click on the 'Live Now' tab on the right hand-side, you can drag the cursor back manually through the images to see the river at different times.
The data services menu
Above the picture is your menu of data services - we call them 'widgets' (in time, we may be adding all kinds of new and useful information and you can adjust your own settings to keep whatever you want with your own favourite location information). These provide really useful information, as follows:
Met Office: This carries a graph showing temperature and pressure variations for the time period you have selected. If you run your cursor along the graph you are provided with boxed information showing the temperatures and pressures at different times during your selected period.
River Levels & Rainfall: This provides a record of the current and recent rainfall and water levels. Again, you can use your cursor to get specific, timed information at intervals representing the time period you have selected. If you click on the arrow on the right hand-side of the boxes (with the name of your river location and other details) you are offered information about several other gauging station sites in your locality. As a subscriber you can click on these to pick up more detailed information. You can see that in each box on the drop down menu there is a column showing a mileage figure - the mileage figures represent 'as the crow flies' distances from the gauging station indicated to the camera at your selected river location.
Tides: The tides information shows the tide height at a location which is nearest to your river site. On the graph, the tide heights are shown in millimetres. If you use your cursor you can trace information along the graph showing the heights in feet and inches, at different time intervals. Another useful tip is to use the 'historic/forecast' option, on the right hand-side of the graph towards the top, to switch between graphs showing tides for the time periods you have selected (historic) or for the next three days (forecast). Again, run your cursor along the graph line to pick up time/height information for this period.
Weather Forecast: This is self-explanatory - here's all you need to know for 'at a glance' local weather information at your river site for the next five days.
The picture menu
Above the picture there are three menus: Local Map, Main Live Image and Timeline, and Zoomed Image for Water Levels.
Local Map: This is useful for you to see all the gauging stations in your selected locality. You can click on these from the map as an alternative way of gaining comparative local information about rainfall and water levels at the gauging stations near your river. You can also use the button in the top right corner to change the map from a 'map' to a 'satellite' view.
Main Live Image and Timeline: By clicking this you return immediately to the main image with the timeline options.
Zoomed Image for Water Levels: Click this box to see a close-up picture of the river to get a better view of water levels. A water level gauge is usually shown to indicate the current height of the water. In a 23-day time period the water level images are shown once a day usually at 1300 hrs; in the 3-day and 24-hour time periods, the zoomed images are shown at one-hour intervals.
Make use of the dashboard
The dashboard is your means of personalising your account and accessing relevant information easily and quickly each time you log on. You can edit your account and you can also set up alerts so that you will be fed information directly to your registered email account when the water level rises or falls above or below a set value which you can select. Just click on the 'Set up alert' button and the process is quick and self-explanatory. As a subscriber you can set up alerts for three sites of your choice.
There is also a box called 'My Saved Locations' on the dashboard. This allows you to save the thumbnails of selected river cam locations so that you can go directly to your preferred locations from the dashboard whenever you log on. You can save a location when you are viewing the main image of a selected river site. On the left hand-side of the screen there is a list showing nearby gauging stations and cameras. Underneath is a box with a plus sign and the words, 'Add to my locations'. Click this to add this location to your dashboard. You have the option of removing the thumbnail from the saved locations whenever you revisit the main image.
The dashboard also saves the thumbnail image of the last location that you visited so that you can pick up directly where you left off when you return to the website.
Contact us with your questions
We are very happy to answer any more specific questions you may have about this site and to receive any comments or feedback. Our purpose is to provide a really useful service for you and to develop the site by adding new data services and additional features. Please go to the 'Contact us' button on the dashboard to ask us for information and provide feedback.