Time a visit to Culleenamore for low tide and you’ll see the reason to come: one of Ireland’s largest seal colonies hauled out on the sandbanks in the middle of the estuary. Come at high water and there’s little beach to speak of and no seals in sight – so this is a beach where the tide table matters more than the weather.
Culleenamore sits just south of Strandhill, tucked behind the half-promontory under Knocknarea. It’s the opposite of Strandhill’s Atlantic surf: facing into Ballysadare Bay rather than the open ocean, it gets no swell and stays calm, with safe bathing. The tide does the drama instead – sandbanks fully exposed at low water and completely covered a few hours later.
The seals
The harbour seals are the highlight. At low tide they haul out on the central sandbanks to rest, and on a still day you can hear them. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times. Keep well back and move slowly: they spook easily, and a startled colony bolting for the water helps no one. Binoculars turn it from a few distant shapes into the real thing.
The dunes behind the beach are good for birds too – waders, gulls, sandpipers, oystercatchers and curlews work the exposed sand and mud – and in spring and early summer the slopes carry orchids, harebells and other wildflowers.
Shells, oysters and old races
People have eaten off this shore for thousands of years, and the proof is in the ground. The dunes hold shell middens – mounds of discarded oyster and other shells – that run almost continuously along this stretch of Ballysadare Bay, some stretching 100 m. Excavations here by the Swedish archaeologist Göran Burenhult made the Culleenamore oyster middens internationally known. The dates span a long sweep of use: Bronze Age material from after 2000 BC, and a large midden radiocarbon-dated to around 1050 AD, just before the Normans arrived. Sligo itself takes its name from these deposits – Sligeach means ‘the shelly place’.
The oyster beds at Culleenamore are said to be the oldest in the county, and in the 18th and 19th centuries the oysters were prized as far away as London, Paris and New York.
Horse racing on the hard sand goes back to the early 1800s, with the surrounding sand hills forming a natural grandstand. The races ran most years until 1954 and have been revived in recent decades by the local community. The strand made grimmer news in 2006, when a 45-foot sperm whale stranded and died on the sandbank, a case documented by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.
Walks and kites
A loop walk runs around the mouth of the estuary and back to Strandhill, part of the Coolera Cultural Trail, with a Wild Atlantic Way discovery point on the Strandhill waterfront. From Culleenamore you can also walk the shore round to Strandhill in about 90 minutes, or take the shorter 45-minute route across the dunes; the path gives views to Knocknarea’s flat summit and the Ox Mountains.
The wide, flat sand and steady wind make it a good spot for flying kites and for kite-buggy riding – families on one end of the scale, experienced buggy riders on breezier days at the other.
Getting there and practical notes
- Access and parking: the strand is off the R292, the ‘Top Road’ built in 1836. Head south out of Strandhill past the Dunes Tavern, then take the first right after the village down a narrow lane to a small, free car park. It’s unstaffed – park considerately and take your litter home.
- Facilities: none on the strand – no toilets, café or lifeguard. Bring water and a windproof layer; the nearest shops and cafés are back in Strandhill village.
- Tides: check a tide table and aim for low water to walk the full sandbanks and see the seals. At high tide the beach all but disappears.
- Dogs: welcome on a lead, kept well clear of the seal haul-out, especially in breeding season.
- Public transport: buses serve Strandhill, but you’ll need to walk or drive the last stretch to the strand.
Nearby
- Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery – one of Ireland’s largest clusters of megalithic tombs, about 6 km away.
- Aughris Beach – a surf-facing beach for a completely different coastal day.
- Strandhill – surf, seaweed baths and the village amenities, a few minutes north.
Go at low tide, bring binoculars, and keep your distance from the seals – that’s the whole trip, and it’s free.