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GUIDE TO THE RIVER WEAR (Wear Head to Eastgate) NAME OF RIVER:
Wear.
WHERE IS IT?: North East England, Wear Dale. PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Put in off the A689 on the upstream outskirts of the village of Wearhead. Or if you want to start at the waterfall, continue driving through Wearhead towards Kilhope with the river on your left until can see the waterfall from the road. After driving out of Wearhead take the left turn to Kilhope, then take your next left and drive down the hill towards the bridge. Park this side of the bridge to view the fall or the far side has a secluded layby near a church in which to get changed. There is a building within the church that we used to get changed in but is now fenced off.  This should be enough info to pinpoint the waterfall but if all else fails just follow the river out of Wearhead and you can't miss it. Take outs are numerous, however the minor road crossing the Wear of the A689 just East of Eastgate is a recommended spot as the river loses its quality after this. APPROX LENGTH: 16 km. TIME NEEDED: 2-3 hours. ACCESS SITUATION: Unknown. WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: This trip is best with plenty of water which requires heavy rain, although its still pleasurable at lower levels. The weir below the road bridge at the suggested get out should have a good flow over its entire width to make the trip worthwhile, at higher levels this is an impressive sight. At the get in the river bed should be noticeably covered, at the best levels the first few hundred metres form a continuous fairly steep rapid making an exciting start to the trip. GRADING: Apart from the waterfall, fairly constant grade 3. MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: The waterfall. A series of drops after 1.5 km, a few river wide stoppers after 9km, a weir at the suggested get out. GENERAL DESCRIPTION: John Bell says (March '00)...'If you start at the waterfall, this makes an exciting warmup! I have paddled it many times, the plunge pool is deep and the tow back not bad. I reckon the fall has got to be the highest cleanly runnable fall in the northeast unless you know otherwise. In spate, it's awesome.' Video of the waterfall being run (Windows Media Format, c800kb each). In the video the water level is too low for the rest of the river: John Bell Antony Mackay The river afterwards is a fast and exhilarating run in high water, although there are no particular nasties for an experienced paddler. The trip is fairly constant throughout its 16 km with play waves scattered at regular intervals. There is a weir at the suggested get-out. OTHER NOTES: An interesting tributary which might also be worth a look, is Rookhope Burn. The river further downstream near Durham is easier but still interesting. CONTRIBUTED BY: Bob Evans and John Bell. |
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