Exploring Sandymount Beach is a fantastic walk to enjoy at any time of the day, but the morning sun can often be the best. The expanse of Sandymount Beach is at its best when the tide is right out, but of course it is equally as enjoyable when the tide is in. The Coast Road is often flooded when a high tide is combined with heavy rain and wind and you can see a few sand bags along the sea front.
Our route takes in some picturesque parks, a playground for the kid’s, a sporting colosseum and relaxing strands.
This is an 8km roundtrip and will take up to 1.5 hours with no stop’s but with a coffee and maybe lunch in Sandymount Village you will need a bit longer to enjoy it fully.
Starting out at the gibson hotel cross over the Liffey on the Tom Clarke Bridge (East Link) and enjoy the view of Dublin, you may even catch the sight of one of the cruise liner’s coming into Dublin port or witness the bridge opening!!
Continue onto York Road and cut through Pembroke Cottages to get you to the start of this lovely walk commencing at Ringsend Park. This tree lined park will allow you to leave the city buzz for a while and take a breath. You will come across a large children’s playground to your left.
Just after the playground will lead you onto Strand Road and a you will have a clear run all the way along Sandymount beach. With the tide in or out, you will see the expanse of this large beach. There’s an outdoor gym along the route if you want to add in some extra exercise. Depending on how far you wish to walk you could head all the way to the end of the beach front or cut it short anywhere along the way. Its worth checking out the Martello Tower and its cute door and take in SCOOP located adjacent to the CircleK Garage (which serves homemade gelato, crepes, waffles and coffee). The pictures speak for themselves, we had a beautiful day.
Grab a cone at scoop and adventure onto the beach, the tide is usually low and when it is you have a huge beach to enjoy.
James Joyce based two episodes of his epic 1922 novel Ulysses at the beach and you’ll also notice along the strand the Martello Tower, There are a number of these structures built along the coast line and they were part of a system of defence built in 1804 to protect from an invasion by Napoleon.
From Sandymount Car Park 1, take a turn onto Gilford Avenue and follow the road around and into Sandymount Village. There’s a lovely green right in the centre of the village., with plenty of places to get a bite of food, its a great spot to recharge and refresh. Many places serve takeaway food, which you can enjoy on the green itself. While you are there look out for the sculptures of W.B Yeats and Seamus Heaney, two of our literary legends.
On the way back follow Sandymount Road onto Newbridge avenue and you will come into Lansdowne Village and you can take in the Aviva stadium and the banks of the River Dodder all the way to Ringsend Bridge.
Take a right here and a sharp left at St. Patrick’s Church and you will see the hotel in front of you, walk down Thorn Castle Street and cross over the bridge back to the hotel.
