Claypath put-in (lower)

The river here follows a tight, deeply incised loop around the peninsula that carries Durham's historic core, so the water sits well below the city in a gorge of steep, wooded banks. Framwellgate Dam, a weir downstream of the loop, holds the water level through the city stretch and is a significant obstacle for salmon and sea trout on their way upstream from the North Sea; the Environment Agency runs a fish counter there to track the migration.

Paddling this stretch means passing beneath a run of historic bridges: the medieval Framwellgate Bridge, the mid-20th-century Milburngate Bridge, the twelfth-century multi-arched Elvet Bridge, and Kingsgate Bridge further round the loop, with Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle visible above the treeline throughout.

The catchment upstream in Weardale carries a legacy of abandoned metal mining, and groundwater contaminated with zinc, cadmium and lead still discharges into the river from old workings at Killhope Burn, Rookhope Burn and Cambokeels. Despite that, the city stretch supports kingfishers and otters, alongside ongoing habitat restoration work by the Wear Rivers Trust and the Environment Agency.