County Meath

Gormanston Beach

Gormanston Beach is on the EPA's list of places people swim, though not one of the waters it tests in County Meath, 2.9 km north-east of Balscaddan. The State does not test the water here, so there is no grade. The register records a lifebuoy and an information board. It leaves 2 of the questions on this page unanswered, and those are shown as not recorded rather than as a no.

Blue Flag

lifeguard

2.9 km

from Balscaddan

Water quality: Not monitored for a classification
Water testing: Not tested by the EPA on its list, but not sampled for a grade
Season restriction: Not recorded
Pollution after rain: Not recorded
Awards: None
County: County Meath
Managed by: Meath County Council
Nearest town: Balscaddan, 2.9 km north-east of it, in a straight line
From that town: 3.9 km by road, about 5 min drivingor 3.8 km on foot, about 48 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: No
Toilets: No
Parking: No
Access: No
Dogs: Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: Gormanston train station. Drogheda-Dublin bus route.
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 53.6414° N, 6.2105° W
Record changed: 2024-05-21

Gormanston Strand, Co. Meath geograph.org.uk 630487·Kieran Campbell, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Gormanston Strand, Co. Meath geograph.org.uk 630487·Kieran Campbell, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Gormanston strand, Co. Meath·Kieran Campbell, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Gormanston strand, Co. Meath·Kieran Campbell, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Gormanston Beach is a sandy beach that stretches north from the Delvin River to Ben Head and beyond to the Seafields at Laytown. It is a popular beach used by walkers, runners and local residents. It has good public transport links, on the Drogheda to Dublin bus route and is served by a train station at Gormanston.

Where it is

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

Getting to Gormanston Beach

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

Gormanston Beach is in Balscaddan, County Dublin. 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 Balscaddan, 2.9 km north-east of the beach. The register records no 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 Gormanston Stn (999117), 580 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Gormanston Stn 580 m
train rail
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Gormanston East 940 m
buses 101 and 101X
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Gormanston Camp 1.6 km
buses 101 and 101X
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Gormanston Coll 1.7 km
bus 192
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Gormanston 1.7 km
buses 192 and 191
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Balscaddan covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Meath

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Gormanston Beach?

Gormanston Beach is on the EPA's list but is not one of the waters it tests, so the State works out no grade for it and none exists. Nothing here says the water is clean or dirty, because nobody has published either.

Is swimming restricted at Gormanston Beach?

The register leaves this blank for Gormanston Beach, which it does for the 89 waters it does not monitor. A blank is not a no. Check with Meath County Council.

Does Gormanston Beach 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 Gormanston Beach?

No. The register records no lifeguard here, so nobody is watching the water.

How do you get to Gormanston Beach without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Gormanston Stn, 580 metres from the beach in a straight line, and train rail call there, run by Iarnród Éireann / Irish Rail. 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 2024-05-21. 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 Meath