Golden Strand Beach

On the north side of Achill Island, the shoreline around the village of Dugort boasts two Blue Flag beaches – the Silver Strand and the Golden Strand. Both of these beaches face Blacksod Bay and the Belmullet Peninsula. The most westerly of the beaches in Dugort, Pollawaddy, is sheltered in the shadow the the magnificent Slievemore mountain, while further east the beach known as Barnyagappul Strend derives its name from the Irish Trá Bhearna na gCapall. This translates as ‘the strand of the gap of the horses’ and refers to the practice in former times of using horses to carry seaweed from the shore to be used as fertiliser in the fields. The Blueway kayak trail is located here. Paddle from Silver Strand to Golden Strand, past the seal caves and the bird colonies.