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Cape Clear North Harbour

Not monitored

This spot isn't an officially designated bathing water, so it has no annual classification and no pollution-alert monitoring. Past sample results are shown below, but none is recent. Assess conditions yourself before entering.

Checked against the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) · data last changed 7 days ago.

Sea conditions

Water temperature

14.2°C

Chilly — most swimmers want a wetsuit

Wave height

2.1 m

Significant wave height offshore; inshore conditions vary.

Tide

Going out

  • Low water around UTC
  • High water around UTC

Modelled values, not measurements — coastal water often differs from the open-sea model, and tide times are approximate to within about half an hour. Use official tide tables for anything that depends on precise timing.

About this spot

Cape Clear North Harbour Beach , is a gently sloping sandy beach facing North, towards Schull on the Southern coast of Ireland. Access to the beach on the island is by ferry from Schull or Baltimore on the mainland. The beach is within walking distance of the ferry landing point on the island.

This spot’s record

Cape Clear North Harbour is in Cork, about 37 km from Castletownbere. Across the 5 most recent samples published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland), E. coli counts ranged from 10 to 404 per 100 ml. The highest was taken on 15 June 2026. A classification is calculated from percentiles across four seasons, so no single reading decides how this water is rated.

Recent sample results

The last 5 bacterial samples published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland), most recent on the right. Counts are per 100 ml of water.

Dashed line: 500 E. coli per 100 ml, the Bathing Water Directive guide value for coastal / transitional waters.

Recent bacterial sample results for this bathing water
DateE. coliEnterococciAssessment
7 Sept4113Excellent
10 Aug5220Excellent
13 Jul102Excellent
15 Jun4046Good
26 May101Excellent

A bathing water's official classification is calculated from percentiles across four bathing seasons, not from any single sample — so one high reading doesn't mean a spot is unsafe, and one low reading doesn't mean it's clean today.

Facilities & access

Lifeguard
No
Parking
No
Toilets
No
Accessible entry
No
Dogs
Yes
Public transport
No

Official water quality

This spot has no official annual classification.

What Excellent, Good, Sufficient and Poor actually mean

Common questions

Can you swim at Cape Clear North Harbour right now?
Cape Clear North Harbour is currently marked "Not monitored". This spot isn't an officially designated bathing water, so it has no annual classification and no pollution-alert monitoring. Past sample results are shown below, but none is recent. Assess conditions yourself before entering. This reflects the latest data published by the Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland). Conditions change quickly — always assess the water yourself before entering.
Is there a lifeguard at Cape Clear North Harbour?
No lifeguard cover is listed for Cape Clear North Harbour. Never swim alone at an unguarded spot.

This spot is also in

Get told when this changes

We’ll email you when the swim status at Cape Clear North Harbour moves — a pollution alert opening, or one lifting. Not a newsletter: only this spot, only when it changes, at most once every 12 hours.

Your address is used for these alerts and nothing else, is never shared, and is deleted the moment you unsubscribe — a link is in every email.

Nearby swimming spots

Contains data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Sea temperature, wave and tide data from Open-Meteo.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Modelled values, not measurements.