Flooding February 2026
Rising...
The Thames started rising in late January. Flood alerts were issued on 4th Feb for Wargrave and Shiplake and also for the Thames-Loddon confluence below Shiplake Lock.
A warning was issued on 8th Feb for Wargrave and Shiplake including Loddon Drive. The alert for the Thames Confluence was strengthened: Flooding of low lying land and roads is expected, especially in the Loddon Drive area and surrounding Wargrave and Twyford areas
The alert for the confluence was similarly strengthened on 11th Feb.
This graph shows the level of the Thames from 10th Jan to 15th Feb 2026. The red horizontal line is roughly at the level where water starts flowing out of the Thames across the land above Shiplake weir. The vertical scale is in centimetres.
This shows the level below Shiplake Lock, which is a good proxy for the lower River Loddon:
The level peaked at 3.54m on 12th Feb. It then dropped to 3.35m on 15th Feb, but a lot of rain fell that day...
Effects
At the peak on 12th Feb, there was 50cm of water under the railway bridge on Loddon Drive and about 7cm on the deepest part of the route in from the A4.
At least two small cars got stuck under the railway bridge, possibly sustaining serious damage. Clearly the drivers did not take note of the depth boards!
Check the numbers...
Comparing the EA's gauge downstream at Shiplake Lock with the level under the bridge:| Date | Gauge Reading | Depth | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Feb | 3.17m | 7cm | 3.1m |
| 7th Feb | 3.31m | 20cm | 3.11m |
| 12th Feb | 3.54m | 50cm | 3.04m |
In December 2024 the numbers were slightly different:
Thames below lock at 321cm and bridge at 17cm deep gives 304cm difference.
Thames below lock at 383cm and bridge at 95cm deep gives 288cm difference.
It seems that the difference between the EA reading and the depth under the bridge reduces as the level goes up, but the actual numbers depend on how much of the water is coming from the Thames and how much from the Loddon.
Be very wary of taking a car under the railway bridge if the reading of the EA gauge below Shiplake Lock is above 3.2m