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County WexfordBlue Flag

Carne

Carne is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Wexford, 2.5 km south-east of Lady's Island. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, a lifebuoy, first aid, an information board and a beach wheelchair.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
Yes
Blue Flag
Yes
lifeguard
2.5 km
from Lady's Island
Water quality
Excellent, 2025
Seasons before
2024 Excellent, 2023 Excellent, 2022 Excellent
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
Awards
Blue Flag · the register does not say which year's award
County
County Wexford
Managed by
Wexford County Council
Nearest town
Lady's Island, 2.5 km south-east of it, in a straight line
From that town
3.7 km by road, about 6 min drivingor 3.6 km on foot, about 45 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Public car parking available onsite
Access
A beach wheelchair is available. Disabled car parking is provided at the main car park. Beach wheelchair located in car park
Dogs
1st June and 15th September: no dogs in blue flag area between lifeguard markers from 11:00 hrs to 18:00 hrs. Dogs on a lead are permitted through the blue flag area to access other beach areas.
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
No
First aid
First aid available at lifeguard hut
Protected area
Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position
52.1997° N, 6.3487° W
Record changed
2026-05-29
Carne Strand
Carne Strand·Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Carne Strand·Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
"Celtic Horizon" seen from Carne Strand
"Celtic Horizon" seen from Carne Strand·Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
"Celtic Horizon" seen from Carne Strand·Oliver Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Carne is a level sandy beach adjacent to Carne pier that faces east towards the Irish Sea. There is a dune system to the west of the beach.

Carne is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Carne has achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating for the 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

Carne, and the other places to swim in County Wexford. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Carne

Your journey, your way

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All times are local to Ireland. Scheduled services, without live delay updates.

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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

Carne is in Lady's Island, County Wexford. 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 Lady's Island, 2.5 km south-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

No scheduled stop was found within 2.5 km of Carne. On-demand services may not be included.

Getting to Lady's Island covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Wexford

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Carne?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Carne is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Carne has achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating for the 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 Carne?
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 Wexford County Council before swimming.
Does Carne have a Blue Flag?
The register records one. It does not record which year's award, and the flag is awarded each season, so it is worth checking the flag is flying when you arrive.
Is there a lifeguard at Carne?
The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Carne without a car?
No stop in the national timetable is within two and a half kilometres of Carne. That is what the published timetable holds rather than a statement that nothing goes near: services that run on demand, and routes that file no schedule, are not in the feed at all.
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 2026-05-29. 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 Wexford