There are plenty of beaches around the Dublin city and Portmarnock is one of them. Near the beach, Portmarnock has a coastal road that will lead of to the Malahide. I personally like that road for a short walk. During the high tide the area looks tremendously beautiful. Near the coast area the place is filled with black rocks and boulders. The waves from the ocean use to get smashed over those rocks during high tide.
Apart from the roadside walk you can also do the walking over the sandy path beneath the road. This place is very nice to go during summer when the day length is very long. I like to go there and sit over a rock near the water and enjoy the sound of water. This is how I use to enjoy the nature. Besides, the area is very quite and you’ll see very few people are paying attention near the rocks. Most of the people are doing jogging and walking beside the road.
Portmarnock beach is also a nice one. It is a nice long beach. During the weekend you’ll find plenty of people are gathering there (specially with kids and family). Lot of people would visit there with their dogs as well. But even after that the crowd is not too many. There is a green grass lawn beside the beach (which is slightly steep as well). I use to lay on my back and enjoy the beach and activity of people (specially the kids who are making sand castle and other stuffs).
During the summer you’d see quite a few people doing swim at the beach. All though it is summer but the water is not warm enough. I’ve tried a small swim near the rocks (not at the beach). It was around 8:30pm at evening, very sunny, but the water was still cold. I couldn’t put myself inside the water for a long. In fact it was only a 5 minute of swimming I’d say.
Near the rocks of Portmarnock you’ll find plenty of places where the water from the high tide is stuck. Those are crystal clear water as no one is disturbing them. Even the sea weeds are growing on them. I called them natural Aquarium, and they look really beautiful. You can also find plenty of wild flowers (but not many in varieties) around the coast. If you are lucky then you can see few uncommon birds as well (if you are a birdwatcher).
How to Go:
There is a bus (route 32) from the city center that goes through the Portmarnock. It takes around 45 minutes to go there as the bus has plenty of stoppages in between. I use to leave the bus at the last end of the Portmarnock and then walk back towards the beach. Then I use to have a sit on the grass for a while before coming back. GPS coordinate of the location is (53°25’56.2″N 6°07’18.3″W).
Where to stay:
There are few hotels near the Portmarnock Beach. People usually visit there for a day trip as it is close to Dublin and doesn’t require much time to go. You can look here for a list of hotels from Dublin.
Portmarnock beach,
Dublin,
Ireland,
GPS Coordinate (53°25’56.2″N 6°07’18.3″W).
List of hotels from Dublin.
This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icwow.blogspot.com/
