Official profile first, then live environmental context
Freshness gate: modelled weather older than 3 hours and gauge readings older than 6 hours are treated as unavailable. Timestamps that cannot be parsed or sit more than 15 minutes in the future are rejected, not labelled live.
Inspect source and failure boundaries
Water-quality classifications, sample history and pollution-risk warnings are deliberately not copied from an unverified nearest-point feed. Use the exact Environment Agency profile above.
Do not combine these into a safety score. The official profile, modelled air weather, any nearby gauge and on-site observations answer different questions. A complete response means only that the requested remote sources returned—not that conditions are safe.
Locate the designated monitoring point
The marker is the Environment Agency record coordinate used by this page. It is not an entry point, access instruction or route. Check land-manager information and what is physically present before approaching the water.
For River Wharfe at Ilkley, the marker identifies Wharfe at Cromwheel - Ilkley (uke4100-08901) at 53.9319, -1.8162. The register names Bradford Metropolitan District Council for this river record in Ilkley. The additional local source reviewed for this page is Environment Agency 2025 bathing-water profile; open it below before turning the record point into a travel plan.
Open this record point in OpenStreetMap →Open the identified official record before travelling
This place check is tied to Wharfe at Cromwheel - Ilkley, identifier uke4100-08901. The Environment Agency profile is the verification route for the annual classification, sample history and any available pollution-risk warning. Those values are not copied from a nearby-point feed.
- Responsible local authority
- Bradford Metropolitan District Council
- Coordinate basis
- Environment Agency designated record point, not an entry instruction
- Designation register check
- 13 August 2026
What a second, place-specific source changes
Environment Agency 2025 bathing-water profile
- What the source establishes
- The profile identifies Cromwheel upstream of the suspension bridge, describes Riverside Walk access, and lists upstream storm-overflow influences that can reduce water quality after rainfall.
- How it changes this check
- Confirm the exact Cromwheel record, then treat recent catchment rain and any returned gauge as separate time-sensitive evidence. A low-looking river is not a substitute for the profile or an upstream trend.
- What remains unresolved
- The profile does not confirm that a particular bank entry is open, stable or suitable today. Resolve access and the physical exit on site before considering entry.
Place-specific verification sequence
- 01Before travel, record the time and status shown on the Cromwheel profile. Do not substitute the Stepping Stones or Wilderness Carpark records; their names and identifiers describe different monitored points.
- 02Review rainfall across the Wharfe catchment and record the identity, timestamp and direction of any gauge used. A gauge on another reach is context only, and no returned gauge leaves flow unresolved.
- 03At Riverside Walk, confirm that the intended bank is the Cromwheel reach upstream of the suspension bridge. Inspect both the ordinary exit and a second escape without crossing unstable shingle or moving water.
- 04Before closing the check, write down which Cromwheel source was opened, when upstream rain was last reviewed and which exit landmarks were actually visible. This keeps a later Ilkley visit from inheriting an old river judgement without its date or reach.
Place-specific evidence questions
This file keeps the exact Wharfe at Cromwheel - Ilkley record (uke4100-08901) separate from same-day observations. Its annual designation evidence is not a current access statement or a safety decision.
- 01Is a returned gauge on the same reach, and how far upstream or downstream is it?
- 02Has rain in the wider Wharfe catchment changed flow or pollution risk since the last official update?
Questions to verify—not confirmed local facts
These prompts are deliberately not presented as sourced, current conditions at this place. Resolve each one with the land manager, lifeguard, local authority, current signs or direct observation. Prompt set reviewed 13 August 2026; review date is not evidence that a prompt is true.
Unverified editorial prompt. Do not treat it as a current local warning, access fact or evidence that the condition is present.
Unverified editorial prompt. Do not treat it as a current local warning, access fact or evidence that the condition is present.
Unverified editorial prompt. Do not treat it as a current local warning, access fact or evidence that the condition is present.
Complete the physical check
- Latest bathing-water profile and warningsUnverified until you record it
- Recent rainfall upstreamUnverified until you record it
- Relevant gauge identity and trendUnverified until you record it
- Entry and exit inspected on arrivalUnverified until you record it
- Access and permissionWhich access point, if any, is currently authorised, and which current land-manager, operator or local-authority notice confirms it?
- Water appearance, odour and debrisLeave if anything is concerning
- Entry, exit and emergency escapeConfirm before entering