RIVER WEAR (Bishop Auckland to Sunderland Bridge)

[Mark R]

Guide.

[ansogura]

Paddled the stretch from Barnard Castle to Page Bank. Found it to be exactly as the guide described. A lot of bankside litter. Plenty of coffee/lunch spots. A nice little car park at Page Bank immediately on the left as you drive over the bridge from Spennymoor. We got out just below the obvious outfall. Bank is quite steep with lots of brambles, but short so not too difficult. Only one angler encountered, a young lad who was friendly enough. Met another guy who was planting willow saplings to provide shade for his fishing. As an angler he had a very refreshing attitude "I can't see what the problem is with canoes, infact I've often thought about getting one myself" Would that they were all as enlightened as that. We tried to encourage him to get in contact with Bishop Auckland Canoe Club. Further downstream we had a very pleasant chat with a fellow paddler (though not in his canoe) who was out collecting firewood for his stove. It transpired that he was a member of the afforementioned club.
Altogether a very pleasant day out.