Culdaff beach, Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal

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Culdaff Beach

Top choice in Inishowen Peninsula


This Blue Flag beach is great for swimming and windsurfing. You can wander its gorgeous length and get lost in the grassy sand dunes, and there's a fun playground for kids too. Lifeguards are on duty from June to September. There's an annual New Year's Day charity swim in the freezing water, which is a hoot.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Inishowen Peninsula attractions

1. Clonca Church & Cross

2.01 MILES

The gable ends and huge windows of the roofless shell of 17th-century Clonca Church frame views of the Donegal mountains. Inside there is an intricately…

2. Donagh Cross

5.76 MILES

The intricate 7th-century Donagh Cross (also called St Patrick's Cross) stands under a shelter by an Anglican church at the west end of town. It's carved…

3. Doagh Famine Village

7.52 MILES

Set in a reconstructed village of thatched cottages, this open-air museum is packed with interesting tidbits about the tragic Famine of the mid-19th…

5. Carrickabraghey Castle

9.11 MILES

Sitting on Friar's Rock, this 16th-century tower is just north of long Pollan Strand and Ballyliffin Golf Club. The ruins are in bad shape so take care…

6. Northburgh Castle

9.12 MILES

Once known as Northburg Castle and then known as Greencastle, apparently from the stone it was constructed from (but today it very well describes the…

7. Pollan Strand

9.25 MILES

This lovely stretch of beach makes for pleasant walks on the sand; however, the atmospheric crashing breakers make it rather unsafe for swimming.

8. Magilligan Martello Tower

10.11 MILES

On Magilligan Point itself, watching over the entrance to Lough Foyle, stands a well-preserved Martello tower, built during the Napoleonic Wars in 1812 to…

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