County MeathBlue FlagGreen Coast

Laytown/Bettystown

Laytown/Bettystown is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Meath, 0.5 km north-east of Bettystown. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, recycling, a lifebuoy, first aid and an information board.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Yes

Blue Flag

Yes

lifeguard

0.5 km

from Bettystown

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, Green Coast · the register does not say which year's award
County: County Meath
Managed by: Meath County Council
Nearest town: Bettystown, 0.5 km north-east of it, in a straight line
From that town: 0.2 km by road, about 1 min drivingor 0.4 km on foot, about 5 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets: Yes
Parking: There are limited parking spaces for Disabled and Older Persons at Bettystown Beach.
Access: There are limited parking spaces for Disabled and Older Persons at Bettystown Beach.
Dogs: Allowed on a lead
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: Drogheda - Laytown bus route. Train station at Laytown.
Protected area: Recorded as a natural sensitive area
Position: 53.7005° N, 6.2374° W
Record changed: 2026-03-23

The beach (2), Bettystown, Co. Meath·P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The beach (2), Bettystown, Co. Meath·P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The beach (1), Bettystown, Co. Meath·P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The beach (1), Bettystown, Co. Meath·P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Laytown/Bettystown is a fine sand beach backing onto sand dunes. There is a links golf course located in the sand dunes. The Boyne Coast and Estuary is a designated Special Area of Conservation (SAC site code 001957) located to the north. To the south, the River Nanny Estuary and Shore is a designated Special Protected Area (SPA site code 004158). Activities on the beach include sandsculpting and kitesurfing. Laytown/Bettystown has hosted the National Sand Sculpting and Sandcastle Competition in recent years. Laytown Strand Race is a horse racing event which takes place annually on Laytown strand. The bathing area is approximately 1.5 km in length and 0.6 km2 in area.

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

Laytown/Bettystown, 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 Laytown/Bettystown

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

Laytown/Bettystown is in Bettystown, County Meath. 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 Bettystown, 0.5 km north-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.

Get directions

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Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Bettystown (109481), 500 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Bettystown 500 m
bus D2
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Brookside 660 m
buses D1 and D2
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Triton Road 800 m
buses D1 and 910
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Eastham Road 1.2 km
buses D1, 910 and 912
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Sacred Hrt Ch 1.4 km
buses D1 and D2
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Bettystown covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Meath

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Laytown/Bettystown?

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

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 Meath County Council before swimming.

Does Laytown/Bettystown 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 Laytown/Bettystown?

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

How do you get to Laytown/Bettystown without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Bettystown, 500 metres from the beach in a straight line, and bus D2 call there, run by Bus Éireann. 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 2026-03-23. 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