Streedagh Beach in Winter

Streedagh Beach in Winter

There is a peculiar irish tradition that is the weekend winter walk. The theory goes that it doesn’t matter how cold it is- you have to wrap up and get out there in order to truely appreciate (and deserve) an afternoon pint- or whatever you’re having yourself.

Now, I’m cheating a little bit as the pic above is from a walk taken on new years eve ’07 but, this Saturday was very much the same sort of day; bitterly cold but bright and dry long enough between showers to get the walk in.  I was playing hostess to a house load for the weekend and all of them (dublin crew the lot) are well trained enough to have a sligo supply of warm clothes and waterproofs.  We grabbed another sligo resident en route and hit the road from town toward streedagh chasing blue sky and running from rain clouds.  As we drove up the Bundoran Road through Drumcliffe we could see sheets of rain in the distance looking suspiciously like it was raining directly over streedagh and nowhere else. Luckily by the time we turned off the main road just before Grange (the sign seems to be down but its the first left after Supervalu on the Sligo side of Grange- signposted “De Cuellar Trail”) the clouds had cleared a bright patch of blue.

Hopping out of the car we were knocked out by the cold, The winter has been pretty mild so far and Saturday was one of the first freezing days- the air smelled like snow and caught in your throat as you tried to breath – perfect day for a beach walk then!

Streedagh is worth seeking out when you’re in Sligo. It’s a dramatic beach with a good beach break (as evidenced by surfing classes with their yellow foam boards in all weathers)  in the winter and acres of unoccupied sand in the summer. It’s a good long walk right to the end (about 20-30mins each way) and the spectre of Cassiebawn Castle in Mulloghmore on the horizon makes for a dramatic backdrop. Of course when you drive up the little road to the beach (follow the road right round to the right past the cows, don’t stop at the first beach) all you see is dunes and a low bay, but if you walk up over the stones toward the sea you get a breathtaking view. 

The beach was the setting of the Armada crash and the De Cuellar trail is so named after one of the few surviving sailors who barely survied a series of attacks once he made it to shore and went on to write about his ordeal. Harrowing stuff for such a beautiful spot.

Walk done (and there was some wimping out on the distance it has to be said) we headed straight for the much needed drink in Grange which is only a few mins away. Grange has plenty of nice pubs- Barry’s of Grange being worthy of a mention for the live gigs it does- but for an afternoon pint Langs is the king. Make sure you go in the very first door (usually stepping past at least one man smoking in the doorway) which brings you into the old proper pub which still has all the paraphernalia of the bar-come-shop; a glorious metal safe, meat and produce hooks in the ceiling, an old scales and best of all, a bizarre selection of things for sale – just in case you realise you’ve forgetten to buy your washing powder/bextartar/dolmio sauce/weatabix.  

The main doors of Langs lead to a perfectly nice bar and they do some great grub (toasted cheese sandwiches are becoming a rare commodity and should be flagged when discovered!) but for my money the snug bar is where it’s at.  A perfect mix of walkers and local men it’s a pub you could accidentally spend hours in…if you didn’t need to drive home that is.