Forty Foot

The Forty Foot is a small rocky inlet on the south Dublin coast where people have swum in the open sea for well over two centuries. There is no beach - you get in down steps or off the rocks into deep cold water, and the sea here rarely rises above fourteen degrees in summer or falls much below eight in winter. For most of its history it was a men-only bathing place, by long custom rather than by law, and women swimming here in the 1970s was a deliberate and contested act; it is open to everyone now. Christmas morning brings a crowd of hundreds and it is a genuine Dublin institution. The James Joyce Tower stands directly above it, and the opening of Ulysses is set there and at the water. There are no lifeguards, no supervision, and the sea state changes fast in wind.

What's there

• The rock entry - steps and rocks into deep water, with no beach.
• The year-round swimmers - used every day, including Christmas morning.
• The Joyce Tower - the Martello tower above, where Ulysses opens.
• The temperature - eight to fourteen degrees, all year.

When to go

Any day of the year. Christmas morning is the famous one and is packed. Early mornings have a steady local crowd who will tell you the conditions.

Practical notes

No lifeguards and no supervision. The water is genuinely cold enough to cause cold shock - get in slowly and do not jump in unacclimatised. Swell and current make it dangerous in onshore wind. Nowhere to change but the rocks.

Nearby

The James Joyce Tower is directly above; Dalkey and Killiney Hill are south.

Key facts