Ballymastocker Bay

Ballymastocker Strand runs for about two kilometres along the western shore of Lough Swilly beside Portsalon on the Fanad peninsula. The sand is unusually golden for this coast and the water inside the lough is sheltered from Atlantic swell, which makes it one of the better swimming beaches in Donegal - it holds Blue Flag status and is lifeguarded in high summer. The view most people photograph is not from the beach but from the Knockalla road above it, where a series of bends looks straight down the length of the strand with the Inishowen hills across the water; a survey by a British newspaper in the 1990s named it among the world's most beautiful beaches, a claim the area has understandably kept in circulation. Portsalon has a golf links, a pier and a couple of places to eat, most of them seasonal. Currents run at the northern end near the pier.

What you actually see

• The strand - two kilometres of golden sand on Lough Swilly.
• The Knockalla road view - the classic look down the length of the beach.
• The sheltered water - inside the lough, calmer than the open coast.
• Inishowen across the water - the hills on the far shore.

When to go

May to September; lifeguards in July and August. The road viewpoint works in any weather that gives visibility. Facilities in Portsalon are largely seasonal.

Honest expectations

Currents run near the pier at the northern end. Outside high summer the village is quiet and most services close. The best view requires driving up the Knockalla road, not standing on the beach.

Nearby

Fanad Head lighthouse is north; Rathmullan and Letterkenny are south.