Dollymount Strand Dunes

Dollymount Strand runs the length of North Bull Island, a wild sand-spit nature reserve hanging off Dublin Bay at Clontarf. Locals swim, kite-surf and walk dogs on the main beach; the cruising tradition lives further out, in the marram-grass dunes towards the quieter northern end, past where most families settle. It is very much a warm-weather scene. On sunny summer afternoons men drift into the dunes in ones and twos; on a grey Tuesday in November you will have the island to the birds. Getting there is half the charm - walk across the old wooden bridge from Clontarf Road or drive over the causeway further north, then follow the strand away from the crowds. Bull Island is a UNESCO biosphere reserve and a protected bird sanctuary, so tread lightly: keep to sandy paths, never leave litter, and stay clear of fenced nesting areas. The usual rules apply - public sex is an offence if witnessed, so discretion in the deep dunes is the local etiquette, and daylight hours are the norm. Bring a swim - the Half Moon swimming club end of the island has been a Dublin institution for a century.