Small Beach at Ards Friary

Sandy Beach at Ards Friary

Sandy Beach at Ards Friary

The location of the Ards Friary lends it access to some beautiful seaside scenery. The walking paths here are quite nice, it ultimately leads you to the Ards Forest Park but we are getting ahead of our story. Along the way, there was clearing and I was surprised to see a sandy beach here. Now, beaches aren’t very rare in Ireland but I just wasn’t expecting to see one here. Just like the other beach in Ireland, the waters are too cold for normal swimming. I don’t think swimming is encouraged or even allowed here since this is a retreat and conference center. The beach itself seemed to be very clean as well. It was then that I noticed that there was someone cleaning the beach area.

Closer to the Water's Edge at the Beach at Ards Friary

Closer to the Water’s Edge at the Beach at Ards Friary

I doubt that people would intentionally throw litter here perhaps some litter from elsewhere would find its way here. The peaceful beach was not very wide. One end was rockier which made walking a little firmer. The water was making the sand too soft and I was sinking into it. I wouldn’t like it if I got sand in my shoes. The beach would have probably looked better had there been better lighting, but that is something Ireland is quite short of.

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