- Water quality Excellent sampled 14 Sep 2026
- Sea temp 13.0 °C surface, modelled
- Waves 0.5 m period 3 s · N
- Wind 11 mph from NE · gust 20
- Next tide High 04:52 today · 3.4 m
Donaghadee is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about 18 miles (29 km) east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and the historic barony of Ards Lower. The town had a population of 7,325 people in the 2021 census.
Adapted from Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Conditions now
Air
10°C
Clear
Swell
0.3m
period 3 s · N
Rain
0mm
last 48 hours
Water quality
A designated bathing water: DAERA samples it weekly through the bathing season (1 June–15 September).
Latest sample 14 Sep 2026: Excellent — E. coli 13, intestinal enterococci 10 CFU/100 ml
Sample history (40 shown)
| Date | E. coli | Ent. | Rating | Algae |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 2026 | 13 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 9 Sep 2026 | 230 | 50 | Excellent | — |
| 4 Sep 2026 | 17 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 1 Sep 2026 | 11 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 29 Aug 2026 | 320 | 310 | Satisfactory | — |
| 28 Aug 2026 | 860 | 700 | Satisfactory | — |
| 24 Aug 2026 | 240 | 80 | Excellent | — |
| 20 Aug 2026 | 32 | 21 | Excellent | — |
| 12 Aug 2026 | 21 | 27 | Excellent | — |
| 6 Aug 2026 | 36 | 59 | Excellent | — |
| 30 Jul 2026 | 90 | 280 | Satisfactory | — |
| 27 Jul 2026 | 72 | 18 | Excellent | — |
| 21 Jul 2026 | 10 | 13 | Excellent | — |
| 16 Jul 2026 | 78 | 60 | Excellent | — |
| 7 Jul 2026 | 23 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 1 Jul 2026 | 20 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 23 Jun 2026 | 10 | 12 | Excellent | — |
| 19 Jun 2026 | 120 | 120 | Good | — |
| 15 Jun 2026 | 16 | 65 | Excellent | — |
| 3 Jun 2026 | 34 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 27 May 2026 | 22 | 13 | Excellent | — |
| 15 Sep 2025 | 24 | 25 | Excellent | — |
| 9 Sep 2025 | 500 | 530 | Satisfactory | — |
| 1 Sep 2025 | 13 | 16 | Excellent | — |
| 29 Aug 2025 | 10 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 21 Aug 2025 | 34 | 14 | Excellent | — |
| 12 Aug 2025 | 10 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 6 Aug 2025 | 60 | 70 | Excellent | — |
| 1 Aug 2025 | 10 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 28 Jul 2025 | 100 | 50 | Excellent | — |
| 25 Jul 2025 | 440 | 520 | Satisfactory | — |
| 17 Jul 2025 | 10 | 16 | Excellent | — |
| 9 Jul 2025 | 51 | 90 | Excellent | — |
| 1 Jul 2025 | 10 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 26 Jun 2025 | 63 | 21 | Excellent | — |
| 23 Jun 2025 | 21 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 19 Jun 2025 | 10 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 13 Jun 2025 | 120 | 320 | Satisfactory | — |
| 11 Jun 2025 | 10 | 10 | Excellent | — |
| 4 Jun 2025 | 10 | 13 | Excellent | — |
Weekly lab samples, not real-time. Avoid bathing for 48 h after heavy rain. Bathing Water Profile (PDF).
Sewage & storm overflows
27 NI Water storm overflows within 1.2 mi — 26 rated Unsatisfactory.
Modelled~313 spills/yrNI Water's prediction, all 27 combined
Measured in 2025464 spills932 h · 154 in the bathing season · 17 of 27 monitored
Nearest 12 overflows
| Overflow | Distance | Classification | Modelled spills/yr | Measured 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manor Wood WwPS → Strangford |
440 yd | Unsatisfactory | ~1 | 1 spill 0 in season · <1 h |
| Warren Road Four WwPS → Belfast Lough |
830 yd | Unsatisfactory | — | 1 spill 0 in season · <1 h |
| Ashfield Donaghadee WwPS → Strangford |
0.5 mi | Unsatisfactory | ~2 | 1 spill 0 in season · <1 h |
| Breckenridge WwPS → Belfast Lough |
0.6 mi | Unsatisfactory | — | 0 spills 0 in season · 0 h |
| Warren Road East CSO → Ards Penninsula |
0.6 mi | Unsatisfactory | ~20 | 70 spills 42 in season · 132 h |
| Bridge Street Shore CSO → Ards Penninsula |
0.6 mi | Unsatisfactory | — | 68 spills 21 in season · 140 h |
| Moat Street Moat Farm 2 CSO → Ards Penninsula |
0.6 mi | Unsatisfactory | — | 7 spills 1 in season · 1 h |
| Shore Street Moat CSO → Ards Penninsula |
0.6 mi | Unsatisfactory | ~18 | — |
| High Street Townhall CSO → Ards Penninsula |
0.6 mi | Unsatisfactory | — | 6 spills 4 in season · 1 h |
| Warren Road Shore CSO → Ards Penninsula |
0.6 mi | Unsatisfactory | ~11 | 56 spills 17 in season · 84 h |
| East Street Castle CSO → Ards Penninsula |
0.6 mi | Unsatisfactory | ~4 | — |
| High Street Hunters CSO → Ards Penninsula |
0.6 mi | Unsatisfactory | ~4 | — |
How these are counted
“Modelled” is NI Water's hydraulic-model prediction of spills per year. “Measured” is from NI Water's event duration monitors, counted with the industry 12/24 method (discharges within the same 12- or 24-hour block count as one spill); the bathing-season figure (1 Jun–15 Sep) is our count from NI Water's published discharge log. An overflow with no monitor isn't known to be dry. Classification is NI Water's own.
Nearest wastewater treatment works: Killaughey Road 252-254 ST (1.9 mi → Strangford) · Windmill Road 71-73 ST (2.2 mi → Strangford).
Amenities & features
Parking
31
Toilets
2
Cafes & food
e.g. The Stormy Cup
3
Pubs & bars
e.g. Grace Neill's Bar
4
Shops
e.g. Russell's Food & Drink
4
Picnic tables
11
Benches
17
Boating — nearest harbours & marinas
- Donaghadee 470 yd
- Groomsport 4.0 mi
- Bangor 5.6 mi
2 more further away
- Bangor 5.7 mi
- Ballywalter 7.3 mi
Wildlife & designations
This beach lies in or within 0.6 mi of:
- ASSI Outer Ards
2 protected features
- Intertidal rock Favourable, 2020
- Intertidal mudflats and sandflats Favourable, 2021
- SAC North Channel
1 protected feature
- Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena Favourable, 2019
- SPA Outer Ards
5 protected features · 3 Unfavourable
- Arctic tern Favourable, 2017
- Golden plover Unfavourable, 2018
- Light-bellied Brent goose Favourable, 2018
- Turnstone Unfavourable, 2018
- Ringed plover Unfavourable, 2018
- pSPA East Coast Marine proposed Special Protection Area, not yet classified
7 proposed features
- Great crested grebe
- Red throated diver
- Sandwich tern
- Common tern
- Arctic tern
- Manx shearwater
- Eider duck
- Ramsar Outer Ards
6 protected features · 2 Unfavourable
- Arctic tern Favourable, 2017
- Golden plover Unfavourable, 2018
- Light-bellied Brent goose Favourable, 2018
- Turnstone not yet assessed
- Ringed plover Unfavourable, 2018
- Manx Shearwater not yet assessed
Protected features and their latest condition assessment, from DAERA's 2023 marine protected area review. Only sites with a marine part are assessed there.
Alerts & advisories
No advisories active for this beach today.