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STRANDHILL |
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STRANDHILL , four miles west of Sligo (bus #472), is swiftly
becoming something of a city suburb, but does have a wonderful beach and
has the dramatic Knocknarea Mountain as an ever-present backdrop. As you
head out there, a right turn off the road will lead you down to Sligo
Bay, where concrete markers delineate a low-tide crossing to Coney
Island - venture across for plenty of good birdwatching and tranquil
sandy beaches. New York's Coney Island is said to have been named after
this dot of land by a homesick sea captain from Rosses Point, the
headland opposite.
At Strandhill itself there's a fabulous, wild beach , with huge breakers
rolling in from the Atlantic. It's a great favourite with surfers, but
you do need to be completely confident in your abilities: this is a
treacherous beach and swimming is not advised . The Sligo Open Surfing
Championship is usually held here during the first weekend in August,
and should you want tuition, head for the Perfect Day Surf School down
by the beach (tel 071/68464; lessons £15/¬19.05). There is an
exhilarating walk southwest around the headland to the quieter
Cullenamore strand where you can take a dip: follow the coast until you
are walking back around into a broad bay with Knocknarea Mountain in
full view. The bay is home to a colony of two hundred seals , so your
chances of spotting one are good. As the dunes fall to lower fields you
can pick your way back towards Strandhill around the back of the golf
course (the walk takes a leisurely hour-and-a-half). Another stroll
heads east from Strandhill surf beach towards Sligo airport to catch the
sight of small planes coming in over the top of Medb's Cairn. At the end
of the airstrip stands the tenth-century Killaspugbone Church (access
across the beach), where St Patrick allegedly tripped on the threshold
and lost his tooth. A beautiful casket in which the sacred tooth was
enshrined - the Fiacal Pádraig - is now in the National Museum in Dublin,
but the whereabouts of the tooth is a mystery. Strandhill village used
to be sited here until drifting sand forced the villagers to move a few
centuries ago.
Today, Strandhill sprawls over the best part of a mile from the main
Sligo road, with its handful of bars and hotels, down to the beach. It
also has the Celtic Seaweed Baths (daily 10am-9pm;
www.celticseaweedbaths.com ; £10/¬12.70) where you can have a steam
followed by a seaweedy bath and decide for yourself whether a soak in
this slimy organic soup does in fact relieve stress, rheumatism and
arthritis. Whatever the claims, it's worth it for the afterglow.
There's an abundance of B&Bs to choose from in Strandhill, including
Burma Lodge , Burma Rd (tel 071/68233; £40-55/¬50.79-69.84) and
Knocknarea House , Shore Rd (tel 071/68313; £33-40/¬41.90-50.79), both a
short walk to the sea. If you're having to count your pennies, the
Knocknarea Hostel (tel 071/68777) is a reasonable budget option, and you
can camp at Strandhill Caravan and Camping Park (Easter to mid-Sept; tel
071/68111). A more upmarket choice is the pleasant family-run Ocean View
hotel (tel 071/68115; £70-90/¬88.88-114.28), at the top end of town.
Down beside the sea, the cosy fireside of The Strand pub is the ideal
place to satisfy a well-earned appetite with delicious homemade soup and
bar meals. Their restaurant next door serves an imaginative range of
seafood and vegetarian dishes (tel 071/68641). Other alternatives are
Shells Café on the seafront or the restaurant and bar at the Ocean View
Hotel .
Strandhill is pretty lively during the summer: there is music every
night in The Strand pub (folk, traditional and rock), while The Venue ,
on the main Sligo road, also has its fair share of live music.
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