Sandy beach close to Cork

Ludo

Howdi,

Can anyone tell me what the closest sandy beach to Cork City is? Need a nice sandy one to let very young kids run around on as they are only just able to walk. We went to Garretstown this morning and it was perfect but just a little bit far for regular visits. Is there a closer one?

Thanks.

tommmy1979

myrtleville.. it's between crosshaven and fountainstown.

Fountainstown itself...

umm.. ringabella.. much quieter than fountainstown or myrtleville but not as sandy.. also beware with smallies.. the channel between fountainstown and ringabella is very dangerous.

There's a fountainstown bus actually..

To answer your question, myrtleville is the closest.

Ludo

Thanks for that. I always thought Myrtleville and Fountainstown were stony beaches as opposed to sand...dodgey memories from my youth obviously. Nice one. Will try there during the week for an early morning walk.

CianDon

What about Rocky Bay. It's about 15 mins beyond Carrigaline. Head towards Minane Bridge. Then follow the signs towards Roberts Cove and along that road you'll see Rocky Bay signposted. Beautifull spot.

bladebrew

Ludo wrote: »

Thanks for that. I always thought Myrtleville and Fountainstown were stony beaches as opposed to sand...dodgey memories from my youth obviously. Nice one. Will try there during the week for an early morning walk.

myrtleville isnt great,the g/f suggested going there one day,in fairness it was february (i think) there was nothing there,the beach is tiny and we left within ten minutes,fountainstown looked a lot nicer,

Bill-e

myrtlevilleis stoney when the tide is in but while it is out there is a massive expanse of sand around to the left of the main beach. One thing to keep in mind is that the tide does come in very fast across such a flat plain so don't leave say an umbro bag with your ipod, phone, wallet and keys in it while playing frisbee. :rolleyes:

Dob74

CianDon wrote: »

What about Rocky Bay. It's about 15 mins beyond Carrigaline. Head towards Minane Bridge. Then follow the signs towards Roberts Cove and along that road you'll see Rocky Bay signposted. Beautifull spot.

Hey keep your mouth shut about Rocky Bay.
We dont want it over crowded:mad:

Ludo

Well we went to Myrtleville this morning and then onto Fountainstown. Myrtleville is a hole quite frankly. Absolutely filthy and no way would we let the little ones out there. Or ourselves for that matter. What a complete kip!!! Tide must have been in also as it was tiny. Fountainstown looked a bit better but not very nice either and no sandy beach as such...just stones and seaweed. Will try Rocky Bay at some stage but I am guessing that Garretstown is the only sizable sandy beach closish to the city..ah well.

CianDon

Dob74 wrote: »

Hey keep your mouth shut about Rocky Bay.
We dont want it over crowded:mad:

We'll keep it as our little secret so than but on any really sweet Summer day the place it's packed. They really need to sort out the parking a bit. It can be so bad somedays I'd cycle from Roberts Cove over.

suppafly

Ludo wrote: »

Well we went to Myrtleville this morning and then onto Fountainstown. Myrtleville is a hole quite frankly. Absolutely filthy and no way would we let the little ones out there. Or ourselves for that matter. What a complete kip!!! Tide must have been in also as it was tiny. Fountainstown looked a bit better but not very nice either and no sandy beach as such...just stones and seaweed. Will try Rocky Bay at some stage but I am guessing that Garretstown is the only sizable sandy beach closish to the city..ah well.

Ya unfortunately u have to drive for a good bit to get to a decent beach. Not really any decents ones near the city

run_Forrest_run

We always just pack a picnic and head for Inchydoney, not very near I admit but you can't beat it for 'sandyness' and size. Great for letting the little ones run around, just watch the incoming tide etc.

Fox McCloud

Bill-e wrote: »

myrtlevilleis stoney when the tide is in but while it is out there is a massive expanse of sand around to the left of the main beach. One thing to keep in mind is that the tide does come in very fast across such a flat plain so don't leave say an umbro bag with your ipod, phone, wallet and keys in it while playing frisbee. :rolleyes:

Erm.. that not myrtleville your talking about anyway! maybe fountainstown?..

Anyway yes myrtleville, total hole. There was an oil spill* in the area of that beach, they managed to confine it to myrtleville so dont bother visiting myrtleville cause its ruined!






*OK maybe there wasnt but tell anyone liable to leave their stinking filthy kids nappies on the beach and complain about the dogs that there was

parkerpen

A certain amount depends on what part of Cork you are living.

parkerpen

There is Robertscove, Coolmaine and there's another one near The Dock in Kinsale (slightly nearer than Garrettstown), To be honest though, when you travel that bit further, you have a fantastic selection of sandy beaches near Clonakilty - The Warren, Inchydoney, etc etc...

rebs23

You're all forgetting about the ones to the east, Inch, Garrettstown.
I can reach them on a Sunday morning in 20-30 mins no bother from Town.

GymJim

Ludo wrote: »

Well we went to Myrtleville this morning and then onto Fountainstown. Myrtleville is a hole quite frankly. Absolutely filthy and no way would we let the little ones out there. Or ourselves for that matter. What a complete kip!!! Tide must have been in also as it was tiny. Fountainstown looked a bit better but not very nice either and no sandy beach as such...just stones and seaweed. Will try Rocky Bay at some stage but I am guessing that Garretstown is the only sizable sandy beach closish to the city..ah well.

Depends when you visit Myrtleville really. It is actually a lovely beach just with it being the nearest to Cork city it gets infested at any remote sniff of cancerous rays by complete undesirables with their inbred children who use the beach as some sort of dump...dirty nappies, cans of dutch gold and random housewaste disgarded. It is such people with a complete lack of social conscience and ignorance of the existence of others who destroy the place and move on after spending several hours baking and making everyone elses day as uncomfortable and threatening as possible. Perhaps in advance of making such comments you should try think of the actual reason for such places being a "hole"...one thing I can tell you for certain is that it's not a "hole" outside of very rare times between cleanings and it is certainly not the locals who create the mess.

If you have an issue with a place which should be a real beauty spot being a "kip" then why don't you volunteer to assist in the cleanup or perhaps take it up with those who cause it.

Fairdues

Presume that when you said that Garrettstown was in East Cork that you didn't mean Garrettstown as that's in West Cork beyond Kinsale? Did you meanthe beach beyond Castlemartyr? Must be getting Alzheimers! Can't remember the name of it! There's a hotel overlooking the beach where they do/did alot of weddings. When I remember the name I'll post again.

Fairdues

It's Garryvoe.

rebs23

Fairdues wrote: »

Presume that when you said that Garrettstown was in East Cork that you didn't mean Garrettstown as that's in West Cork beyond Kinsale? Did you meanthe beach beyond Castlemartyr? Must be getting Alzheimers! Can't remember the name of it! There's a hotel overlooking the beach where they do/did alot of weddings. When I remember the name I'll post again.

Meant garryvoe, if you're getting alzheimers, i'm getting dementia!

Ludo

GymJim wrote: »

Depends when you visit Myrtleville really. It is actually a lovely beach just with it being the nearest to Cork city it gets infested at any remote sniff of cancerous rays by complete undesirables with their inbred children who use the beach as some sort of dump...dirty nappies, cans of dutch gold and random housewaste disgarded. It is such people with a complete lack of social conscience and ignorance of the existence of others who destroy the place and move on after spending several hours baking and making everyone elses day as uncomfortable and threatening as possible. Perhaps in advance of making such comments you should try think of the actual reason for such places being a "hole"...one thing I can tell you for certain is that it's not a "hole" outside of very rare times between cleanings and it is certainly not the locals who create the mess.

If you have an issue with a place which should be a real beauty spot being a "kip" then why don't you volunteer to assist in the cleanup or perhaps take it up with those who cause it.

My, that was quite a rant. I obviously hit a nerve here which made you register and post that.
Well, I visited Myrtleville last tuesday and it was filthy. I have visited numerous beaches close to Cork in the last 2 weeks and Myrtleville was by far and away the least inviting. It was the only place we wouldn't even let the little ones out of the car at. All the others were surprisingly clean to be honest. Maybe we got very unlucky with the day we chose to visit Myrtleville but it is certainly off our list of places to go again.

I don't understand why you are so offended and taking the tone that you are as I am fully aware of the reason that it is was dirty and NEVER once mentioned the locals as being the problem. Why is it my place to "take it up" with those responsible? There was no-one there when I swung by oter than some guy using a metal detector.

corklanger

kinsale.....across the bridge and take a left,good sandy beach and plenty of space to walk about next to beach

Glico Man

Dob74 wrote: »

Hey keep your mouth shut about Rocky Bay.
We dont want it over crowded:mad:

Man I haven't heard the name Rocky Bay since I was a wee nipper when I was living in Carrigaline.

13 years on and I still remember the place.

That really is a great spot.

Judes

Whitebay - I think this is a little gem of a beach. It's east but not too far - i.e. Take the main N25 to Midleton and then take the left turn on to the R630 signposted for Whitegate. Go through Whitegate and turn towards Roches Point. Follow the road up the hill, and just as you start to descend look for a big car park on the right hand side. There is a footpath in the left-hand corner of the car park that takes you down to the beach.

It's a lovely beach for adults and children - when tide out very sandy and a lot of children paddle there, on a sunny day there are usually loads of yachts berthed just off the beach. Then there are little rock caves along cliff too.

So from town about a 30 min drive. Great for making sandcastles too! J

Aspiration

Whitebay used to be my favourite beach for years but last year when I was home for a weekend I went down there and I had never seen it so filthy in my life. Cans, paper, used condoms and cigarette butts were seen. I was pretty disgusted and disappointed. I hope it's gotten better since that day but I no longer have a desire to go down there.

The hill is a killer too but it used to be worth it.

Does anyone know if Gyleen beach is sandy or stoney? I remember as a kid we used to go fishing in the rock pools down there!

54kroc

Whitebay's a great spot, I used to walk my dog there every day,but lately it's shocking the mess that people leave down there, I've heard the car park is used for dogging as well.

Gylenn is stoney as well.

Tony H

I was in Whitebay about 3 weeks ago and it was fairly clean , only one or two empty cans in by the caves , there is a good section of Gyleen with sand but there is a lot of rocks there as well.

Judes

With Whitebay - it's good days, bad days when it comes to the cleanliness of the beach - very tidal dependent i.e. if high tides, then a load of seaweed, rubbish, plastic bottles will wash up and it could be a week or two before another high tide comes up wash it all out back to sea. Which is a shame. And yes, there are occasions when I reckon the bonfire brigade leave their cans behind - but generally it's a very clean beach - and when the tide's out, there are so many areas between rocks to sit - so that you have a bit of protection from winds and compared to other beaches, I think it's usually very clean. J

gccorcaigh

Myrtleville is a hole!!. West Cork has fab beaches, particularly Inchydoney and Ballyrizzard.
There is a nice beach down in Kinsale, if you drive out of the town and across the bridge, there is a nice beach down the road on the right. Cant remember the name of it....