County Donegal

Lady's Bay, Buncrana

Lady's Bay, Buncrana is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Donegal, 0.8 km south-west of Buncrana. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it sufficient for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records toilets, parking, bins and an information board.

Sufficient

water quality, 2025

Blue Flag

lifeguard

0.8 km

from Buncrana

Water quality: Sufficient, 2025
Seasons before: 2024 Poor, 2023 Poor, 2022 Poor
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 14 days last season
Awards: None
County: County Donegal
Managed by: Donegal County Council
Nearest town: Buncrana, 0.8 km south-west of it, in a straight line
From that town: 0.9 km by road, about 2 min drivingor 1 km on foot, about 12 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: No
Toilets: Yes
Parking: Yes
Access: Recorded as accessible, with no detail given
Dogs: Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: The register records some
Position: 55.1314° N, 7.4635° W
Record changed: 2026-06-19

Buncrana pier during sunset with rainwater reflections.·Greg Clarke, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Buncrana pier during sunset with rainwater reflections.·Greg Clarke, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Lady's Bay beach consists of a sandy beach in Lough Swilly confined by Buncrana pier to the South and a small rocky outcrop 550m to the North. It is one of a series of beaches along the West of Inishowen. Lady's Bay beach supports a number of different plant and wildlife species. Important wildlife species include otters and Mallard, while important plant species include Lady's fern and wood sage. Lady's Bay beach is part of The Lough Swilly SAC which is of conservation importance and contains good examples of at least four habitats listed on Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive. Activities at Lady's Bay beach include swimming, boating, power boating, jet skiing and other land-based activities on the beach. The designated bathing area is approx. 0.02633 km2 and the extent along the water is approximately 550m. There is a medium gradient off Lady's Bay Beach continuing out at a medium slope before beginning to get gradually deeper until it reaches the channel.

Lady's Bay, Buncrana is classified as achieving a Sufficient Water Quality rating in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Lady's Bay had a Poor Water Quality rating for the years 2022 to 2024. Significant improvement works carried out by Uisce Eireann at the wastewater treatment plant in Buncrana which has improved the water quality at Lady's Bay. 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

Lady's Bay, Buncrana, and the other places to swim in County Donegal. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to Lady's Bay, Buncrana

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

Lady's Bay, Buncrana is in Buncrana, County Donegal. 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 Buncrana, 0.8 km south-west 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 Buncrana (13102), 570 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Buncrana 570 m
bus 976
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Ballymacarry 740 m
bus 976
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Cockhill Rd 870 m
buses 933, 933A and 964
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Cockhill Road 870 m
bus 964
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Luddan 1.8 km
bus 976
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Buncrana covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Donegal

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Lady's Bay, Buncrana?

The EPA classified it Sufficient for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Lady's Bay, Buncrana is classified as achieving a Sufficient Water Quality rating in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Lady's Bay had a Poor Water Quality rating for the years 2022 to 2024. Significant improvement works carried out by Uisce Eireann at the wastewater treatment plant in Buncrana which has improved the water quality at Lady's Bay. 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 Lady's Bay, Buncrana?

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 Donegal County Council before swimming.

Does Lady's Bay, Buncrana 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 Lady's Bay, Buncrana?

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

How do you get to Lady's Bay, Buncrana without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Buncrana, 570 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus 976 call there, run by McGonagle Bus and Coach Ltd.. 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 2026-06-19. 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 Donegal