County CorkBlue Flag

Garretstown

Garretstown is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Cork, 2.9 km south of Ballinspittle. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, a lifebuoy, first aid and an information board.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Yes

Blue Flag

Yes

lifeguard

2.9 km

from Ballinspittle

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 Cork
Managed by: Cork County Council
Nearest town: Ballinspittle, 2.9 km south of it, in a straight line
From that town: 3.4 km by road, about 4 min drivingor 3.9 km on foot, about 49 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: Recorded as accessible, with no detail given
Dogs: Dogs are not allowed on this beach between 10.30 a.m. & 7.00 p.m. during the bathing season which runs from 1st June to 15th September.
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
First aid: With Lifeguards
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 51.6423° N, 8.5795° W
Record changed: 2026-02-25

Garretstown Beach·Jonathan Thacker, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Garretstown Beach·Jonathan Thacker, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Garretstown Beach The quieter end of the beach late on a mid-June afternoon.·John M, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Garretstown Beach The quieter end of the beach late on a mid-June afternoon.·John M, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Garrettstown Beach is a south facing, gently sloping, sandy beach which is flanked on both sides by rocky cliffs. It is quite open to rough weather and rough seas. Garretstown Marsh is located north of the beach. Garretstown Beach is surrounded by Natural Heritage Area, Special Protection Area and Special Areas of Conservation areas although it is not part of them. The beach is used to some extent by anglers, walkers, surfers and windsurfers.

Garretstown is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Garretstown 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

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

Getting to Garretstown

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

Garretstown is in Ballinspittle, County Cork. 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 Ballinspittle, 2.9 km south 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.

Get directions

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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Garrettstown (236121), 200 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Garrettstown 200 m
bus 253
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Garrylucas 550 m
bus 253
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Lispatrick Lwr 2.0 km
bus 253
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Ballinspittle covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Cork

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Garretstown?

The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Garretstown is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Garretstown 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 Garretstown?

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 Cork County Council before swimming.

Does Garretstown 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 Garretstown?

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

How do you get to Garretstown without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Garrettstown, 200 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus 253 call there, run by TFI Local Link Cork. 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 2026-02-25. 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 Cork