A two-mile stretch of golden sand on the North Coast of Northern Ireland, near Portstewart town. It borders the Bann Estuary and offers views towards the Inishowen headland and Mussenden Temple.
Beach Gallery
Location
Access Information
Located at 118 Strand Road, Portstewart, BT55 7PG. Driving onto the beach is permitted but managed with limited, paid parking (National Trust members free). Cars must leave by the closing time indicated. Out-of-hours car park available near entrance.
Beach Details
Activities
- Walking
- Surfing
- Bodyboarding
- Picnics
- Wildlife spotting (birds
- butterflies)
- Sauna
- Dog walking (restricted areas/leads required)
Facilities
- Paid car park (on beach
- limited)
- Toilets
- Accessible Toilets
- Changing Places Facility (RADAR key
- Sat/Sun only until Apr 10th 2025)
- Beach wheelchair loan scheme (via Mae Murray Foundation)
- Dog bins/area
- Surf School (SUB6)
- Sauna
Environment
Features 6,000-year-old sand dunes (an Area of Special Scientific Interest) and borders the Bann Estuary, a sanctuary for birds.
Conservation Status
Managed by the National Trust, Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI).
Views
Inishowen headland,Mussenden Temple,Atlantic Ocean,Bann Estuary
Wildlife
Wild pansy flowers,Common blue butterflies,Dark green fritillary butterflies,Waterfowl (in Bann Estuary),Wading birds (Curlew, Redshank in Bann Estuary)
Cultural & Historical Significance
Managed by the National Trust,Features 6,000-year-old sand dunes,Known Game of Thrones filming location
Beach Tags
Reviews
Reviews Summary
Generally highly rated (TripAdvisor 4.4/5) for its beauty (long sandy stretch, dunes, views), but many recent reviews complain strongly about the high cost of parking (£8.50 in summer) and the presence/behaviour of cars driving on the sand, which some find unsafe or detracting from the natural experience. Some negative interactions with parking staff are also noted.
Won’t be back , absolutely outrageous being charged to go to a beach in the freezing cold weather . Being chased up the beach being told to pay , we are an elderly disabled couple and £8 would buy us our lunch never mind a national beach that should be free! Very upsetting .
Amazing place. However I can't believe cars are allowed to drive the whole length of the beach. Unsafe and spoils the experience.
It's a nice beach. The parking is on the beach so there's plenty of room, but it is expensive especially if you don't plan to spend the whole day there. Easy to drive on at least near the entrance. No shells on this beach
The views are lovely but to take the cat onto the beach much too expensive, we came from Donegal so it was disappointing. We gave a lively beach we can drive onto in Donegal, so that will be our choice I future
This is a fabulous beach, glorious white sand stretching for miles and sand dunes to die for. Be warned though, it's £8 to park there and to be honest, the cars spoil the beach. I feel the Trust should keep the vehicles in one smaller area.We first visited to enjoy lunch at Harry's Shack. Paid £8 to park; Harry's Shack had stopped serving food, so an entirely wasted £8. I feel there should be a better system in play.
Arrived in the morning Wednesday 14th June to walk the dog with my 5 yr old and teen son , drove onto the beech and got chased down by this horrible man who didn’t even give me time to log onto my account to prove I was a member of the nat trust , I was trying to tell him to give me time to find it , when he took offence and threatened me with the police , I said fine bring them the police . He then tried to take photos of me with his PERSONAL Phone for whatever reason. I have been there a lot as I live 5 mins away . Never have I been so disappointed and disgusted with anyone but he needs a talking too .
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