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County Wicklow

Bray South Promenade

Bray South Promenade is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Wicklow, 1 km east of Bray. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it good for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, a lifebuoy, first aid and an information board.

Good
water quality, 2025
No
Blue Flag
Yes
lifeguard
1 km
from Bray
Water quality
Good, 2025
Seasons before
2024 Good, 2023 Good, 2022 Good
Water testing
Tested by the EPA sampled through the season and given a water quality grade
Season restriction
None in place
Pollution after rain
Prone to short term pollution, closed 6 days last season
Awards
None
County
County Wicklow
Managed by
Wicklow County Council
Nearest town
Bray, 1 km east of it, in a straight line
From that town
1 km by road, about 2 min drivingor 1.1 km on foot, about 14 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
Disability access ramp & boardwalk along shingle
Dogs
Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
Dart light rail, Dublin Bus.
First aid
Available at Lifeguard station
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
53.2023° N, 6.0957° W
Record changed
2026-04-08
Bray Head and Beach in Autumn
Bray Head and Beach in Autumn·David Kernan, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Bray Head and Beach in Autumn·David Kernan, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
BRAY AIR DISPLAY 2008 (2709823572)
BRAY AIR DISPLAY 2008 (2709823572)·William Murphy from Dublin, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
BRAY AIR DISPLAY 2008 (2709823572)·William Murphy from Dublin, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Bray South Beach is a gently sloping, shingle beach which leads onto clear waters with some growth of seaweed. The beach is not overly exposed with Bray headland to the south. The Special Conservation Area of Bray Head and seawaters beneath provide rich habitats for local flora and local fauna. Cormorants, porpoises and dolphins are often seen.

Bray South Promenade is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Bray South Promenade achieved a Good Water Quality rating for four consecutive years 2022 to 2025. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health.

The EPA’s own beach profile

Where it is

Bray South Promenade, and the other places to swim in County Wicklow. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Bray South Promenade

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About these directions

Public transport times come from National Transport Authority. Timetables cover 2026-09-18 to 2027-09-19. These are scheduled services; check with the operator for cancellations and changes before travelling.

Walking and driving times are estimates. A town search starts at its centre; choose your location or a point on the map for a more precise starting point. Eircode search is not available.

How journey planning works
Destination, access and nearby stops

Bray South Promenade is in Bray, County Wicklow. Routes here end at the point the map records for this place. The entrance has not been verified, so the last few metres are for you to judge.

The nearest settlement is Bray, 1 km east of the beach. The register records parking here. Getting to the town is not getting to the beach, so the journey below is worked out to the beach itself and the last stretch on foot is measured rather than left out.
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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Strand Road (4159), 170 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Strand Road 170 m
    bus L14
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Bray (Daly) 340 m
    trains DART and rail
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Victoria Avenue 340 m
    bus L14
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Bray Promenade 390 m
    bus L14
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Bray Station 400 m
    bus L12
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Bray covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Wicklow

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Bray South Promenade?
The EPA classified it Good for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Bray South Promenade is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Bray South Promenade achieved a Good Water Quality rating for four consecutive years 2022 to 2025. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health. A classification is a record of seasons that have finished; it is not a reading of the water today.
Is swimming restricted at Bray South Promenade?
The register records no season-long restriction. That is about the season, not about today: a short notice after heavy rain would not appear here, and this water is recorded as prone to short term pollution. Check with Wicklow County Council before swimming.
Does Bray South Promenade have a Blue Flag?
No. A beach without one can still have excellent water: the Blue Flag also asks for facilities, lifeguards and information boards, which a quiet strand may not have.
Is there a lifeguard at Bray South Promenade?
The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Bray South Promenade without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Strand Road, 170 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus L14 call there, run by Bus Átha Cliath – Dublin Bus. The planner on this page works out the walk from that stop over real footways, and the whole journey from wherever you are starting, for the day and time you pick. Where no footway joins the stop to the beach it says so rather than making a number up.
Where does this come from?
The Environmental Protection Agency's list of places people swim, which it calls the bathing water register, read on 2026-09-20, where this record was last changed on 2026-04-08. Water quality, awards, lifeguards and facilities are the EPA's own fields, and a field it leaves blank is shown as not recorded rather than as a no. The distance to the nearest town is this site's own measurement, in a straight line.

Water quality, awards, lifeguards, toilets, parking and access are the Environmental Protection Agency’s own fields, from its bathing water register, read 2026-09-20. The classification covers four years of sampling and is not a reading for today: after heavy rain the water can be worse than the classification suggests, and the EPA and the local authority post notices when it is. Positions are the EPA’s grid references, projected to latitude and longitude. Journeys are the National Transport Authority’s published timetable.

Beaches and bathing waters in Ireland·Beaches in County Wicklow