County Wicklow

The Cove Greystones

The Cove Greystones is one of the waters the EPA tests and grades in County Wicklow, 0.5 km north of Greystones. The Environmental Protection Agency classified it excellent for water quality for the 2025 season. The register records no facilities here.

Excellent

water quality, 2025

Blue Flag

lifeguard

0.5 km

from Greystones

Water quality: Excellent, 2025
Seasons before: 2024 Not classified
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 6 days last season
Awards: None
County: County Wicklow
Managed by: Wicklow County Council
Nearest town: Greystones, 0.5 km north of it, in a straight line
From that town: 0.6 km by road, about 1 min drivingor 0.6 km on foot, about 7 minutes at 4.8 km/h
Lifeguard: No
Toilets: No
Parking: No
Access: No
Dogs: No
Cars on the beach: No
Public transport: No
Position: 53.1491° N, 6.0623° W
Record changed: 2026-03-31

Cove at Greystones·Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Cove at Greystones·Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Manhole cover, Greystones·Rossographer, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Manhole cover, Greystones·Rossographer, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

What the EPA says about it

The Cove Greystones is a naturally formed cove with shingle beach nestled in rock foreshore 350m south of Greystones Marina..

The Cove Greystones is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on assessment of bacteriological results fro the period 2024 to 2025. The Cove Greystones was newly identified in 2024 as a beach for monitoring, management and assessment under the requirements of the 2008 Bathing Water Quality Regulations. 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

The Cove Greystones, and the other places to swim in County Wicklow. Share your position and the map will show how far each one is from you.

Getting to The Cove Greystones

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

The Cove Greystones is in Greystones, County Wicklow. 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 Greystones, 0.5 km north 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 Trafalgar Road (4220), 160 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

Trafalgar Road 160 m
buses L3 and 84n
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
La Touche Road 260 m
buses L3 and 84n
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Victoria Road 310 m
bus L3
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Greystones Village 430 m
buses L2, L1, L3, X1 and X2
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day
Greystones Fire Stn 520 m
bus L3
Scheduled departures from this stop
Day

Getting to Greystones covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other places to swim in County Wicklow

Questions people ask

Is the water clean at The Cove Greystones?

The EPA classified it Excellent for the 2025 season, which is worked out from four years of samples. The Cove Greystones is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on assessment of bacteriological results fro the period 2024 to 2025. The Cove Greystones was newly identified in 2024 as a beach for monitoring, management and assessment under the requirements of the 2008 Bathing Water Quality Regulations. 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 The Cove Greystones?

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 Wicklow County Council before swimming.

Does The Cove Greystones 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 The Cove Greystones?

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

How do you get to The Cove Greystones without a car?

The nearest stop in the national timetable is Trafalgar Road, 160 metres from the beach in a straight line, and buses L3 and 84n call there, run by Go-Ahead Ireland and Nitelink, Dublin Bus. 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 2026-03-31. 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 Wicklow