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County DonegalBlue Flag

Marble Hill

Marble Hill is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Donegal, 1.9 km east of Portnablagh. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records a lifeguard, toilets, parking, bins, first aid, an information board and a beach wheelchair.

Excellent
water quality, 2025
Yes
Blue Flag
Yes
lifeguard
1.9 km
from Portnablagh
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 Donegal
Managed by
Donegal County Council
Nearest town
Portnablagh, 1.9 km east of it, in a straight line
From that town
3.9 km by road, about 6 min drivingor 4.2 km on foot, about 53 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
A beach wheelchair is available. via slipway to North main beach or laneway before parking on the right.
Dogs
Dogs are not permitted in the Blue Flag Area of this beach from 12 pm to 7 pm (1st June - 15th September annually). Dogs are permitted on leads outside the Blue Flag Area at all times.
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
The register records some
Position
55.1768° N, 7.8992° W
Record changed
2026-03-23
Sandy foreshore of Marble Hill strand
Sandy foreshore of Marble Hill strand·C Michael Hogan, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Sandy foreshore of Marble Hill strand·C Michael Hogan, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Marble Hill Beach
Marble Hill Beach·Alistair Cunningham, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Marble Hill Beach·Alistair Cunningham, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Marble Hill beach consists of a sandy beach with two rock outcrops at the east of the beach. These are exposed at times during the tidal phase during the day. Marble Hill beach consists of sand dunes which support a vast variety of plant species. There is also a wide variety of wildlife at Marble Hill beach. It is part of the Sheephaven SAC. This northern site is of high conservation value because of the extensive area of relatively unspoilt coastal habitats and the range of plant and animal species that these habitats support. Activities at Marble Hill beach include swimming, kayaking, boating, windsurfing and other land-based activities such as football, kite flying, etc. The bathing area is designated and is approximately 0.4415km2 and the extent along the water is approximately is 1330m. The depth of the water on the shoreline increases within 2 meters off the shore to a depth of 1 meter and gradually increases to greater than 2 meters with the slope of the shore.

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

Marble Hill, 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 Marble Hill

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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

Marble Hill is in Portnablagh, 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 Portnablagh, 1.9 km 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.
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Stops near it

No scheduled stop was found within 2.5 km of Marble Hill. On-demand services may not be included.

Getting to Portnablagh covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Donegal

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Marble Hill?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Marble Hill is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Marble Hill 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 Marble Hill?
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 Marble Hill 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 Marble Hill?
The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Marble Hill without a car?
No stop in the national timetable is within two and a half kilometres of Marble Hill. That is what the published timetable holds rather than a statement that nothing goes near: services that run on demand, and routes that file no schedule, are not in the feed at all.
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 Donegal