Ah Dollymount strand, sure is'nt it lovely all the same. Even on a crisp February day its a decent…read morespot for a longer than long walk... Your feet can take you a few miles or kilometres in either direction, coasting along aimlessly upon the grains of sand. If you walk far enough you can even begin to feel like Tom Hanks did in the movie Castaway. Its a very tranquil place, with beautiful scenery to boot. If your dog cannot be trusted off the lead then my advice would be to keep him/her on it - there are loads of sand dunes for little Fido, Max, Snoopy ( insert your dogs name HERE) to go missing in... You will also look like an absolute goon running awkwardly, screaming your dogs name at the top of your lungs. whilst they ignore you and keep running. Running up that hill... The parking is free along the road but be sure not to park up at the roundabout unless you have a valid disabled parking permit. I believe the fines are €125 euro from the Guards now. Enough to cripple anyones month and leave your wallet a bit lame. You have been warned!

Dollymount was the place to make Dublin childhood memories (so I've been told). Every summer "back…read morein the day" the long sandy stretch was packed with kids, dogs at the surf, and cars parked along the beach to act as a breaker for that incessant wind. Queues of cars lined the Clontarf road waiting to get across the single lane wooden bridge (still do!). It's still a lovely spot for an afternoon walk, just be sure to be off the sand by dusk unless you're a local or part of a crowd. During the day the strand is a haven for kite surfers, dog walkers (check the surf for spring-loaded retrievers bounding along the breakers in utter doggy delight) and photogs -in the evenings however an entirely different element takes over, their detritus liable to be found underfoot the next day in the form of used needles and assorted garbage. Translation: wear shoes.

It's a sandy beach! Nice, clean, fine, lovely-to-walk-in sand!…read more In the last spate of sunny weather, I trekked out to Killiney thinking this was the spot, the pretty spot the place to go. Pretty yes, nice to sit down or lie on, no! It's all stoney and not conducive to the lazy beach day you would generally have in your mind. Now as for Portmarnock! I had quite the opposite image in my mind, especially after the recent press, but ladies and gentlemen, you will be rather pleasantly surprised if you take the trip out here! Ice cream vans, sculptures, a nice grassy verged area, a huuuuggge beach that goes on for miles, and - wait for it - SANDY sand! The only cautionary note I will end with is - if you're not a major fan of teenagers, or perhaps the younger childer - perhaps stay away. The place is jam packed full of em! The further down the beach you go (away from the parking), the better. You get better sand, more of it, and you are less likely to have to stick some ear plugs in! Re. the parking - we ended up driving into one of the local estates as we couldn't find room anywhere along the roads, and the White Sands Hotel was charging a tenner (TEN EURITS!!) to make the most of their tarmac!

When I have worked too much and have too many tests to correct and too many lessons to prepare and…read moretoo much going on (wow I need to breathe!), I cycle all the way from Dublin centre to this beach. I love cycling and this route is about 17 kms long and I love every second of it! This place makes me feel peaceful and the strand is very long with beautiful rocks and scenery. If you do not exercise that much, there are buses and a main Dart train line in this area too. There is also a Martello tower overlooking the beach, a very local small ice cream stand besides several hotels along the path and a nice monument to honor the first solo westbound transatlantic flight which began there. When you are in the middle of the beach you can see a bit far away Ireland's Eye, a tiny uninhabited island directly north of Howth Harbour. I swim most of the times when I am feeling brave enough and the waves can be quite rough so you need to be a kind of good swimmer.

Bull Island is somewhat of a geographical oddity, as it is a sandspit, but one that extends out…read morefrom a man-made object. Bull Island is (in geological terms) a very recent addition to the Dublin coastline. Early in the nineteenth century, the Bull Wall was constructed in order to stop Dublin Port from silting up. An unforeseen side-effect of this decision was that the silt began to deposit against the Bull Wall, at a rate that within fifty years, a sizeable sandspit had built up, which is what we know today as Bull Island. Evidence of the island's growth over time is to be found just behind the sand dunes: at one point on the island, there is a submerged Lifeguard's hut. When it was built, this structure would have been just yards from the sea; now it half-submerged, and a line of sand-dunes blocks it's view of the water. It's difficult to imagine that a landmass of this scale could grow from nothing to the island's present size in less than a hundred years. The island is big enough to contain a wildlife reserve, two golf clubs, a scouts den, a load of sand dunes and miles of gently sloping beach. The wide, flat beach is very pleasant to take a stroll along on a sunny day, and the area behind the sand dunes is great to do some cross-country training. There are a lot of rabbits to be seen behind the dunes as well, and keep an eye out for the seals that sunbathe on the landward side of the island's tip. No doubt there's loads of stuff that I am leaving out but Bull Island is a fantastic amenity, and a place well worth checking out.

One of my favourite things about Dublin is it's parks. You're never too far from one in the city…read morecentre. Two DART stops or a quick stroll and your surroundings go from grey to green. Bull Island nature reserve / beach / geographical wotsit is one of the best places for a long walk in Dublin. The new dunes and views are beautiful, there's wildlife everywhere, and it's well set up for dog-walks too. Just perfect.

As beach comes, this is not the white sandy beach kind... What is does offer is some great views…read moreacross the Dublin Bay; from Dalkey Island off to Bray head the whole coast line is visible to you and on a sunny day it's breathtaking; whilst on a not-so-sunny day it is also great to park up and watch the waves crash in, something I love doing on a stormy day. It's quite a stoney beach though when the tide is out there is better stretches of sand to sit/lay out on. As a beach nearby me, it's lovely to take a stroll here early morning or late evening, the peace and again beauty of the views just makes it a true relaxing haven to unwind and clear the mind. There are public toilets as well as ample parking, it is pay and display Mon-Fri however all other times, it's free game. There isn't shops nearby so if you are planning the day out here, make sure to pack the beverages and sandwiches otherwise it's a little track to the nearest village.

I used to walk on this beach daily as it was close to where I lived. The best part of the day for…read moreme was early in the morning or in the evening when it was quieter. No matter the weather we are luck to have this beach so close to the city and easy to get to. I remember one day while I was walking the beach there were 100's of starfish at the waters edge and I had great fun flinging them back into the sea - I hoped they lived for another day.

This is a lovely long beach with a Martello tower at the end to climb up steps to. This is a blue…read moreflag beach and people swim here regularly. There is also a promenade to walk along the beach if you prefer that to the sand and there seems to be a funfair there. I love this beach and could easily spend a long afternoon there after visiting cafes and charity shops in this beautiful North Co Dublin town.

I don't know how I never knew this beach was here! I felt like my Dub credentials were under threat…read moredue to my ignorance until I realised that apparently nobody else knows about it, not even Yelp! It's a lovely stretch of beach with pure white sand that I can only assume was imported... Located at the back of Sutton Village you have Ireland's Eye, Howth Head and Malahide on the horizon and a lovely mix of young, old, Irish and new Irish alike, not to mention some rather impressive eye candy (i.e. Tim sunning). Definitely my new fair weather spot!

Having grown up on this beach it holds a special place in my heart but I thinks it's one of the…read morenicest beaches in Dublin. Located on the Burrow Road it is known as either Burrow Beach or Hole in the wall beach as the access to the beach used to be through a large hole in a wall - you still need to climb over what's left of the wall but much easier now ! It's a lovely long flat beach and has great views out to Ireland's Eye. It's good for swimming but be careful as there can be strong currents. A great walk you can do is to get the DART to Sutton station which is very close to the beach and then walk along the beach up to Howth - then you could walk the pier and replenish your lost calories with some chips or just jump back on the DART. This however is only possible at low tide and you must be careful not to get trapped by the incoming tide

You can't beat the exhilaration of swimming in the Irish Sea, the blissful tingling sensation stays…read morewith you and makes you feel closer to nature, to life and to adventure. Bring a book, a flask of coffee, a cream bun and savour the moment. What a wonderful view of Dublin Bay with little smiling heads bobbing in the foreground. Go during the colder months, you won't regret it.

For a place that really is quite popular, I can't quite figure out why. There's no sand, but plenty…read moreof old people changing, disgusting toilets and the seaweed can stink up to high heaven. Needless to say, I'm not a fan. Yes, it's handy because it's on the DART line, but so are Killiney and Malahide, and they're in another league altogether. Seapoint's like the ugly one that tries desperately to fit in with the others, but just can't, no matter how hard they try. Oh, and it lost their blue flag, which was it's single redeeming feature. However, it's a popular bathing spot, and there are crazy diehards who swim here every day. Mad altogether, but Seapoint's actually OK if you are swimming as opposed to paddling. So I'm told anyway...why you would swim in Irish waters is beyond me.

One of my favourite harbours…read more It's peaceful, cosy and always something to see. The famous seals, seagulls fighting with them over leftovers from the fishermen, people buying their lobster for Sundays dinner, people relaxing... Or just watching the waves and enjoying the scenery.

Bulloch Harbour is one of a number of charming little harbours dotted along the coast of South…read moreCounty Dublin. Tucked away behind Bulloch Castle, Bulloch Harbour isn't crowded with tourists, despite it's proximity to the Dalkey Dart station. My first real acquaintance with Bulloch Harbour came late last year when I was looking for a location to shoot a short film. The locating of a location (ha! see what i did there?) for this film was fraught with difficulties, due to the fact that part of the action took place (a) in a boat, and (b) at night. A nighttime shoot in a boat, what could be more easy to organise? Nevertheless, the good folks who fish in Bulloch Harbour not only gave us a boat and brought us round in it (at nighttime, in the freezing depths of November), but also gave us the use of their little shack, offered to make tea... couldn't meet nicer people. And one of our key shots would have been ruined had they not provided us with an additional extension cord, so thanks a million lads. In non-filmmaking related points of interest, boats can be rented at Bulloch during the summer, and the harbour has a couple of resident tame seals. If Tony sees you with a camera out, he might get one of them to lumber up the steps to take a piece of fish from his hands. An overlooked little gem, just south of the city.