County Waterford

Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East

Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Waterford, 0.8 km north of Dunmore East. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it good for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, recycling, a lifebuoy, first aid and an information board.

Good

water quality, 2025

Blue Flag

Yes

lifeguard

0.8 km

from Dunmore East

Water quality: Good, 2025
Seasons before: 2024 Excellent, 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
Awards: None
County: County Waterford
Managed by: Waterford City & County Council
Nearest town: Dunmore East, 0.8 km north of it, in a straight line
From that town: 1 km by road, about 2 min drivingor 1.3 km on foot, about 16 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: No
Dogs: No dogs allowed between 11am to 7pm, June, July and August
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: Public buses
First aid: At lifeguard station
Position: 52.1557° N, 6.9911° W
Record changed: 2026-07-26

Dunmore East, Waterford (17490918733)·National Library of Ireland on The Commons, no restrictions via Wikimedia Commons
Dunmore East, Waterford (17490918733)·National Library of Ireland on The Commons, no restrictions via Wikimedia Commons

Badger's Cove, Dunmore East·Albert Bridge, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Badger's Cove, Dunmore East·Albert Bridge, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Counsellors Strand is a sandy beach with a gentle slope, set within a large steep sided cove. The cove surrounding the beach consists of striking red sandstone cliffs and geological features, such as folding, can be seen in the surrounding cliffs. The cliffs support a variety of seabirds not least being the colony of kittiwakes which nest along the face of the cliffs. Above the beach and cove there is a grassed area suitable for picnics and viewing. The designated bathing area is approximately 100 metres long and 75 metres wide (at low tide). Activities include swimming, bodyboarding and kayaking. An adventure centre is located at the harbour offering a variety of water sports and land based activities such as rock-climbing.

Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating in 2024 and a Good Water Quality rating in 2023 and 2022. 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

Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East, and the other places to swim in County Waterford. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East

Going toCounsellors' Strand, Dunmore EastDestination: the mapped location

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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

Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East is in Dunmore East, County Waterford. 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 Dunmore East, 0.8 km north 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 Dock Road (247721), 420 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Dock Road 420 m
buses 354 and 358
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
The Woods 500 m
bus 354
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Horsequarter 550 m
bus 354
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Ard na Coille 740 m
bus 354
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Dunmore East 940 m
bus 358
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Dunmore East covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Waterford

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East?

The EPA classified it Good for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East is classified as achieving Good Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating in 2024 and a Good Water Quality rating in 2023 and 2022. 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 Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East?

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 Waterford City & County Council before swimming.

Does Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East 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 Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East?

The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.

How do you get to Counsellors' Strand, Dunmore East without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Dock Road, 420 metres from the beach in a straight line, and buses 354 and 358 call there, run by Bus Éireann and TFI Local Link Waterford. 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 2026-07-26. 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 Waterford