Portstewart Strand is a sandy, two-mile long

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

Portstewart Portstewart () is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,003 people in the 2011 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade leadin ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulste ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

, on the northern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

coast of the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is situated between the popular seaside resort of Portstewart and the mouth of the

River Bann The River Bann (from ga, An Bhanna, meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total lengt ...

, known as the Barmouth and is one of the top 10 visitor attractions in Northern Ireland.

Facilities

It is owned and managed by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and is a

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non- ...

in recognition of high standards of beach management and water quality. Cars can be brought onto the beach and parked on the strand. When the National Trust purchased the beach in 1980, it allowed this long-standing tradition to continue. The beach attracts up to 180,000 visitors every year. All activities including watersports, are zoned. On 28 April 2008, the National Trust opened a new visitor facility at the beach following a £450,000 investment, part-funded through the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

Conservation

In 2000, the dune system was included in the Bann Estuary Area of Special Scientific Interest, due to the rare and fragile habitats and wildlife that it supports. Many species of butterflies and orchids, including the bee orchid, have been recorded, and can be viewed from waymarked trails.

In popular culture

Portstewart Strand features as the Dornish Coast in Season Five of

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the firs ...

, which sees Jaime Lannister and Bronn fight with Dornish guards.

References

Landforms of County Londonderry Tourist attractions in County Londonderry {{Londonderry-geo-stub