Skip to content
County DonegalBlue Flag

Stroove

Stroove is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Donegal, 4.3 km north-east of Greencastle. 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
4.3 km
from Greencastle
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
Greencastle, 4.3 km north-east of it, in a straight line
From that town
4.4 km by road, about 5 min drivingor 4.4 km on foot, about 55 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard
Yes, hours not recorded
Toilets
Yes
Parking
Yes
Access
A beach wheelchair is available
Dogs
Dogs are not permitted on any area of this beach from 11 AM to 7 PM (1st June to 15th September annually)
Cars on the beach
No
Public transport
The register records some
Position
55.2274° N, 6.9277° W
Record changed
2026-03-23
Beach near Stroove
Beach near Stroove·James Emmans, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Beach near Stroove·James Emmans, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The beach at Stroove
The beach at Stroove·Malcolm Neal, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The beach at Stroove·Malcolm Neal, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

Stroove beach consists of a small sandy beach. The beach is exposed at times during the tidal phase during the day. The beach is contained to the east and west by rocky headlands. Stroove beach has an excellent variety of coastal habitats including high rocky cliffs, offshore islands, sand dunes, salt marsh, a large intertidal bay, and rocky, shingle and sand beaches. This site is of high conservation value because of the extensive area of relatively unspoilt coastal habitats. The catchment area is an idyllic location for bird watching and ecological activities. Activities at Stroove Beach include swimming and other land-based activities such as football, etc. The bathing area is designated and is approx. 0.01534km2 and the extent along the water is approximately is 160m. The depth of the water on the shoreline increases within 2 meters off the shore.

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

Stroove, 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 Stroove

Your journey, your way

Let’s get you to Stroove.

Choose where you are starting. We’ll work out the rest.

Going toStrooveDestination: the mapped location
1 Where are you starting?

Type at least two letters, then choose a suggestion.

Nearby starting points
2 How would you like to travel?
3 When are you going?

All times are local to Ireland. Scheduled services, without live delay updates.

Journey preferences Transport type and sorting

Choose a starting point to plan your journey.

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

Stroove is in Greencastle, 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 Greencastle, 4.3 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
Or open it inGoogle MapsdirectionsApple MapsdirectionsWazedriving satnav
Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Shrove (12195), 180 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Shrove 180 m
    buses 953 and 957
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Greencastle covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Donegal

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at Stroove?
The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. Stroove is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Stroove 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 Stroove?
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 Stroove 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 Stroove?
The register records one, without giving hours. Outside those hours nobody is watching the water.
How do you get to Stroove without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Shrove, 180 metres from the beach in a straight line, and buses 953 and 957 call there, run by TFI Local Link Donegal Sligo Leitrim. 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 Donegal