Ireland's best beaches - for treasure hunting or nude sunbathing -- Ireland's secret spots

Bask in the beauty of Ireland's beaches

Ireland's best beaches are not a secret, pick a beach any beach at all and feel free to claim it as your own.

When my children were young, as well as 'treasure' hunting in castles, we used to go beach 'combing'. It was not unusual to find coconuts (from the Caribbean or fishing buoys from New England) on the West Coast or lumps of coal from Wales on the East Coast.

Fortunately, we have never lived far from the sea as is the case with most people living in Ireland. We can proudly boast of having possibly the most spectacular coastline in Western Europe...pity about the weather. There are no ‘costas’ in Ireland (Thank God) however on a ‘pet’ (unseasonably warm) day in May or September, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Greece should you find yourself on a deserted white sandy coral beach, lapped by turquoise waves with only a couple of cows or sheep to keep you company.

Ireland's best beaches on the east coast are much busier due to their proximity to the capital, Dublin city with the added bonus of being able to buy an ice-cream or a coffee close by/ Whereas on the west coast the beaches can be pretty isolated, fabulous if you fancy nudey sunbathing or skinny dipping but be warned, even with the north Atlantic drift warming the water the temperature never rises much above 6C. And of course, never, ever swim alone, it can be very, very dangerous no matter how inviting it looks. There are plenty of Blue Flagged (ie water quality tested beaches throughout Ireland), with lifeguard stations, but only during the summer months.

For a list of the ten best beaches in Ireland visit click here.

Let's talk about the weather......

Well, let's face it, we have had it up to here with politics and as for religion? we are not even going to go there… Apparently there is a big freeze on its way (in more ways than one) to Ireland, which could result in us having a premature 'White Christmas' yippee...... Just what we need a bit of festive cheer, an excuse to hole up with friends and loved ones and forget about all that’s going on.

We are obsessed with the weather here in Ireland, we talk about it all the time, its woven its way into our language and shaped us and environment over the millennia. And while we never stop going on about it, we are in fact blessed in that we never get extremes of weather in Ireland. ie it never gets too hot or too cold. We don’t get hurricanes, whirlwinds, terrible droughts or floods and all the nasty stuff that goes with them like bugs, flooding and erosion. Okay, we do get occasional flooding but that’s more to do with global warming and our own mis-management (nothing new there) like building on natural flood plains or releasing water from hydro-electric dams…..

But when we are not whingeing about it we realise this how lucky we are especially on what we call a ‘pet day’. This is an unseasonably, perfectly still, warm and sunny day that we get once in a while in the middle of winter, where all is well with us, our neighbours and the world.... Compared to the other extreme which is ‘a day for the high stool’ when the weather is so cold, wet and miserable you have no choice but to head for the pub.



Whereas we usually manage to survive ‘soft days’ (because we are so used to them) which is what we call rainy days. True, you can get some wet days in Ireland were the rain is as soft as an Evian facial but we used the same term to excuse the horizontal stuff that blows in from the Atlantic. Which we really shouldn’t complain about either as these prevailing westerly winds are the reason we have the cleanest air in Europe. The tell-tale signs being the lichen that grows on rocks and trees all over Ireland, which doesnt happen in polluted environments.

And is the reason why, we have the healthiest growing conditions for crops and animals, evident in our fresh food, and even ourselves, if we don’t mess with it of course. So it’s ‘a good day’ we would have it and despite all our financial woes we are beyond fortunate to live in the most beautiful country in the world, Let's hear if for the 'Greens' (whoops, naughty...)

Susan Byron author of http://www.ireland-hidden-gems.com/

For more about the weather in Ireland check out http://www.irishweatheronline.com/

Read more: Arctic spell could see temperatures in Ireland drop to 14F - SEE PHOTOS