Beaches aren’t just places to simmer on days when the sun beams from an azure sky. They also make great places to escape the pressures of 21st-century living, at any time and in almost all weathers.
In strong sunshine, shorelines are happy places to idle in the heat, but my personal favourite is a fresher day with a cool onshore breeze to sharpen the senses.
Filled with the tang of salt air and soothing sounds of the ocean, a bracing beach walk invariably brings calm to the soul.
And with 7,500km of Irish coastline, we all have abundant opportunities to experience the soothing tranquillity of treading coastal sands.
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To do this, an option is to book into one of the sublimely located shoreline hotels listed below, and then make sure to include a bracing beach walk or jog as part of your daily recreation.
Heighten the experience by removing your footwear to connect with the sand as you walk the water’s edge, feeling the wavelets gently numbing your ankles. And later, you may drift off to sleep, lulled by the sound of the waves .
Great Northern Hotel, Bundoran, Co Donegal
One of a series of hotels built in the 19th century to serve the growth of rail travel, the Great Northern remains an iconic hostelry. Having long outlived the Bundoran Railway which carried its original customer base, it is now renowned for its location on an 18-hole golf course offering panoramic views over Donegal Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
It also overlooks Bundoran Beach, which makes a pleasant place for a short stroll, but to get away from it all, head in the opposite direction along a clifftop path for about 2km you reach the car park by Tullan Strand.
Just beyond, descend to the beach and continue walking north for another 2km, where you will likely see surfers catching the renowned Bundoran waves. The clear waters of the Erne Estuary is your signal to turn around and retrace your steps to the Great Northern, having enjoyed a bracing 8km outing.
The Dingle Skellig Hotel, Co Kerry
Existing within a beautiful but challenging landscape, the people of Dingle have traditionally looked towards the sea for survival. The town’s safe-haven harbour was a favourite of Spanish trading ships and this brought prosperity in medieval times.
Later, a friendly dolphin named Fungi made home in these waters and did much to transform Dingle into a tourism hub. Fungi is no more, but the harbour is still the town’s greatest asset and a lovely place to explore it is from the Dingle Skellig Hotel, which is ideally located on the waterfront.
Built in the 1960s as Ireland’s first Gaeltacht hotel, it soon became a favourite location for the Fitzgerald/ Kennedy family of Boston when holidaying in Ireland. From the hotel, you can explore the east side of the harbour on a lovely path that follows the picturesque shoreline west from the hotel to Dingle Lighthouse, just over a kilometre away.
Slieve Donard Hotel, Newcastle, Co Down
Facing the mighty Mourne Mountains and backdropped by the Royal County Down golf course, the Slieve Donard ranks as one of Ireland’s most dramatically located hotels.
Opened in 1898 as a showcase for Victorian grandeur and opulence, it was designed as a grand escape from the industrial grunge of 19th-century Belfast.
From the Donard, you can ramble the waterside promenade to gain the town centre in a little over a 1km. And for a more memorable experience, follow the silky sands north for about 3km before ascending from the beach to reach the Murlough Bay Nature Reserve. A 6,000-year-old dune system; it makes an excellent place for rambling, birdwatching and wild flower identification along an extensive network of boardwalks and paths. Afterwards, retrace your steps to the Slieve Donard.
Lahinch Coast Hotel, Co Clare
Long a Mecca for surfers and golfers, Lahinch is a fine example of a compact, coastal village with a strong and welcoming vibe. The main accommodation provider is the Lahinch Coast Hotel.
Set in a quiet location off the main street with ample parking, it was, when trading as the Aberdeen Arms, a preferred watering hole for the golfing fraternity frequenting the local championship course. In recent times, the hotel has significantly expanded its accommodation offerings to cater for visitors wishing to interact with all aspects of the surrounding landscape.
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A two-minute walk from the Lahinch Coast conveys you to the seafront. Go right along the promenade and then descend to the beach. Continue walking the silky sands for about 2km to reach O’Brien’s Bridge on the R478.
Here you have a choice: either retrace your steps along the beach or go right and follow the footpath for about 1.5km to the Lahinch Coast. One word of warning, it is best to avoid this walk at high tide when Lahinch Beach is almost completely submerged.
Butler Arms Hotel, Waterville, Co Kerry
As a general rule, the longest-established hotels occupy the best locations and the Butler Arms, which opened for business in 1884, is no exception.
Backdropped by the wild Dunkerron Mountains and located on an isthmus between Lough Currane and Ballinskelligs Bay, the hotel has a long tradition of hosting glitterati guests: Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney, Michael Douglas and John Steinbeck all visited.
Waterville’s magnificent beach is just across the road from the hotel and makes a memorable place for a quick stroll at any time. For a nice half-hour, you can follow the beach left for about 1.5km each the outflow river from Lough Guitane.
You can also go right for a 3km walk to enjoy food or an evening drink at the atmospheric Smugglers Inn, but you will have to leave the beach and follow a quiet road for the last few hundred metres to the Smugglers.
Cliff House, Co Waterford
With a long seafaring tradition and holding the site of Ireland’s first Christian monastery, Ardmore makes a lovely escape for discerning visitors. The 5-star Cliff House Hotel sits as you might expect on a clifftop, but just 200m away lies the great sweep of Ardmore Beach.
Once on it, the world is your oyster for seashore walking. You can ramble the sands for 3.5km and indeed go much further since you are also walking on St Declan’s Way, which is signposted to Cashel, Co Tipperary.
More likely, however, you will now follow your taste buds back to sample the renowned cuisine at the Cliff House, secure in the knowledge that you have created an appetite with a memorable 7km, there and back, walk.
Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa Hotel, Co Cork
Inchydoney is a tiny island off the west Cork coast near Clonakilty, connected to the mainland by two causeways. The four-star hotel on the Island is renowned as the home of Ireland’s first seawater spa, offering a range of ocean-based and mud-based treatments.
With splendid ocean views and an away-from-it-all atmosphere, the hotel makes a spectacular place to escape life’s demands. And with one of Ireland’s finest beaches right on the doorstep, you have no excuse not to head out on a breezy waterside ramble.
For a longer walk, there is an easy, 6km island circuit starting and finishing at the hotel, which is mostly along glorious sandy beaches but also includes some waterside paths and cross-country trails.
Renvyle House Hotel, Co Galway
Oliver St. John Gogarty, an important figure in Irish literature and political life, purchased Renvyle House as a summer retreat in 1917. Burned during the Civil War, it was rebuilt as a hotel in the late 1920s.
Tucked away in a secluded corner of Connemara, with an old-world atmosphere and turf fires blazing aromatically throughout, the hotel is situated on a 150-acre wooded estate featuring a private lake that offers fishing and boating.
For a short walk , there is a pebble beach located right alongside the hotel. A longer outing takes you on the 2.5km Grounds Loop. This walk takes in a 1km beach walk with panoramic views to offshore islands. Later, a path brings you inland around Rusheeduff Lake, where you will pass a Bronze Age stone circle before following a sylvan avenue back to the hotel.
Kelly’s Hotel, Co Wexford
Wexford is celebrated for great sandy beaches that sweep away to the horizon and Kelly’s Hotel, Rosslare, is located on such a strand. Well-known for its exceptional hospitality and family-friendly atmosphere, it has become an institution for generations of Irish holidaymakers.
From the hotel, you can walk on to Rosslare Beach and follow it north for almost 4.5km with the Irish Sea a continual presence to your right. There are rocky breakwaters every couple of hundred metres, but these are easy to surmount and not really a problem.
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When you reach the end of the peninsula at Rosslare Point, you can either retrace your steps or continue around the headland, with the placid waters of Wexford Harbour now on your right. If you continue, you will eventually reach a quiet public road that leads back to Kelly’s after about 3km.
Coastal beaches are tidal locations, with the result that some walks may be impassable or unsafe around high tide.
