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Balscadden Bay is situated on the east coast of Ireland to the north of Dublin Bay and close southeast of Howth Harbour at the beginning of the harbour's east pier. The anchorage is a good location if a berth is unavailable in Howth Harbour and a perfectly serviceable anchorage outside in any event.

Balscadden Bay is situated on the east coast of Ireland to the north of Dublin Bay and close southeast of Howth Harbour at the beginning of the harbour's east pier. The anchorage is a good location if a berth is unavailable in Howth Harbour and a perfectly serviceable anchorage outside in any event.

Balscadden Bay is a good anchorage that affords protection to all conditions from the south round to west but is completely exposed to anything with an easterly component. However, in these conditions, it is more than convenient to lift anchor and go inside Howth Harbour which offers complete protection from all the elements. Seaward access is straightforward but daylight navigation and good visibility is essential to locate the bay's fringing rocks.



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Keyfacts for Balscadden Bay
Facilities
Marked or notable walks in the vicinity of this location


Nature
No fees for anchoring or berthing in this locationRemote or quiet secluded locationAnchoring locationBeach or shoreline landing from a tenderJetty or a structure to assist landingQuick and easy access from open waterScenic location or scenic location in the immediate vicinitySet near a village or with a village in the immediate vicinity

Considerations
None listed

Protected sectors

Current wind over the protected quadrants
Minimum depth
3 metres (9.84 feet).

Approaches
4 stars: Straightforward; when unaffected by weather from difficult quadrants or tidal consideration, no overly complex dangers.
Shelter
4 stars: Good; assured night's sleep except from specific quarters.



Last modified
November 3rd 2020

Summary

A good location with straightforward access.

Facilities
Marked or notable walks in the vicinity of this location


Nature
No fees for anchoring or berthing in this locationRemote or quiet secluded locationAnchoring locationBeach or shoreline landing from a tenderJetty or a structure to assist landingQuick and easy access from open waterScenic location or scenic location in the immediate vicinitySet near a village or with a village in the immediate vicinity

Considerations
None listed



Position and approaches
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Haven position

53° 23.240' N, 006° 3.570' W

This is situated in on the 2 metre contour just off the strand.

What is the initial fix?

The following Balscadden Bay initial fix will set up a final approach:
53° 23.290' N, 006° 3.270' W
This waypoint is 400 metres out from the anchoring area and about 300 metres north of the bay's north facing cliffs. A course of west by southwest leads in from here.


What are the key points of the approach?

Offshore details are available in eastern Ireland’s coastal overview for
Strangford Lough to Dublin Bay Route location
with details for vessels approaching from the south available in the Dublin Bay to Rosslare Harbour Route location coastal overview. Use Howth Harbour's Click to view haven directions for local approaches.


Not what you need?
Click the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons to progress through neighbouring havens in a coastal 'clockwise' or 'anti-clockwise' sequence. Below are the ten nearest havens to Balscadden Bay for your convenience.
Ten nearest havens by straight line charted distance and bearing:
  1. Howth - 0.5 nautical miles NNW
  2. Carrigeen Bay - 1.1 nautical miles NNW
  3. Malahide - 5.2 nautical miles NW
  4. Dún Laoghaire Harbour - 6 nautical miles SSW
  5. Talbot’s Bay - 6 nautical miles N
  6. Dublin Port - 6.2 nautical miles WSW
  7. Seal Hole Bay - 6.4 nautical miles NNE
  8. The Boat Harbour - 6.5 nautical miles N
  9. Saltpan Bay - 6.7 nautical miles NNE
  10. Dalkey Island - 7 nautical miles S
These havens are ordered by straight line charted distance and bearing, and can be reordered by compass direction or coastal sequence:
  1. Howth - 0.5 miles NNW
  2. Carrigeen Bay - 1.1 miles NNW
  3. Malahide - 5.2 miles NW
  4. Dún Laoghaire Harbour - 6 miles SSW
  5. Talbot’s Bay - 6 miles N
  6. Dublin Port - 6.2 miles WSW
  7. Seal Hole Bay - 6.4 miles NNE
  8. The Boat Harbour - 6.5 miles N
  9. Saltpan Bay - 6.7 miles NNE
  10. Dalkey Island - 7 miles S
To find locations with the specific attributes you need try:

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Chart
Please use our integrated Navionics chart to appraise the haven and its approaches. Navionics charts feature in premier plotters from B&G, Raymarine, Magellan and are also available on tablets. Open the chart in a larger viewing area by clicking the expand to 'new tab' or the 'full screen' option.

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What's the story here?
Balscadden Bay tucked in under the Ben of Howth to the southeast of Howth
Image: Estaubé via CC BY-SA 2.0


Balscadden Bay is situated beneath the cliffs to the south of Howth Harbour and on the northern side of the Ben Of Howth peninsula that forms the northern arm of Dublin Bay. It is situated close outside the extensive fishing port and yachting centre of Howth Harbour.

It makes for a convenient anchorage as Howth Harbour is subject to overcrowding and it is of itself well protected from prevailing winds. It is subject to swell however so it is better thought of as a settled conditions anchorage.


How to get in?
Balscadden Bay as seen from the southeast
Image: Michael Harpur


Convergance Point Use the directions provided for Howth Harbour's Click to view haven for approaches to Balscadden Bay. The bay is readily located from all directions by following the line of Howth Harbour's East Pier and it's conspicuous overlooking Martello tower. This tower is situated on a prominent bluff to the immediate east of the bay and is known locally as 'Tower Hill'. Once identified the approach must be from seaward to avoid the bay's fringing rocks.

Initial fix location From the initial fix come in slowly west by southwest towards the strand in the corner of the bay maintaining a careful watch for rocks, carefully sounding all the way in. Keep well out of the area situated between the tower and the harbour wall as fringing rocks that dry to 2 metres reach out more than 150 metres to seaward in this area.
Please note

Vessels approaching from Howth Harbour should not follow the harbour's eastern pier into Balscadden Bay as this will lead over these rocks.



These rocks must be identified during the approach and certainly before anchoring in the inner reaches of the bay. So good visibility is required and if this is not available it would be best to anchor further out than normal in at least 5 metres.


The bays skirting rocks eastward of the tower visible
Image: Michael Harpur


However, anchoring further out places a vessel in the area where disused cables have been discarded as seen on the chart. The official line on the cables is that they were cut off, pulled back from the swimming area on the foreshore and left in situ on the seabed. This happened many decades ago and a headland marker has ceased to be maintained for almost as long. They could present a hazard to anchoring craft as their whereabouts is now uncharted, marked or monitored. As a minimum, it is advised that a solid tripping line be deployed when anchoring in this area. This will also help with the lobster pots in the season, not all of which are marked by a buoy, which lie in this area.


Balscadden Beach
Image: Michael Harpur


Haven location Anchor according to draft and conditions. The 2 metre contour line is very close to some rocks so keep the scope short inshore. Likewise, be careful to check the holding is secure after anchoring as seaweed is prevalent in this area.


Why visit here?
Balscadden is derived from the Irish name Baile na Scadán that means the town or homeland of the herrings. The name indicates that it may have served as a fish market for landing boats in past times.


Balscadden Beach when it was a bathing resort circa 1905
Image: National Library of Ireland on The Commons


Its next known use was in the period just after World War One when it was a favourite bathing-place, for genteel society. Then the small cove was designated as the ladies beach. In accordance with the proprieties of the day, the men’s facilities were to be found further around the bay, away from the ladies. The Dalriada Tea Shop served the ladies with refreshments immediately above the beach. One of its bathers must have been a young William Butler Yeats.

William Butler Yeats by John Singer Sargent 1908
Image: Public Domain
As a teenager, the poet’s often penniless father, John Butler Yeats, accommodated his family in a small, long and low thatched house that looking out from the cliffs of Balscadden Bay cliffs towards Ireland's Eye and Howth Harbour. This was late in the autumn of 1880 and the family remained here for two years. John Butler Yeats, a painter of some renown today, had been lent the cottage and used his scarce funds to rent a studio for himself in Dublin’s York Street. Although primarily driven by a need to economise the family found deep contentment here. An unexpected consequence was a deepening of W.B.’s relationship with his father as they spent time together travelling by train from Howth into his father’s studio in the town centre. There they would have breakfast with other poets who tended to congregate in the studio reading passages from poetry and literature.

Yates went on to be Ireland’s leading poet and, having been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, became one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. It is said that the happiness they found combined with the house's beautiful aspect could have had a major influence on the poet's early works. A plaque commemorating the families stay has some of Yate’s immortal lines on it. W. B. Yeats poet lived here 1880 -1883 "I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams".


Plaque on Balscadden House where the Yeats family lived today
Image: Michael Harpur


Today Balscadden Bay is a lovely family beach. As with Howth Harbour, the bay serves as a good location to take a coastal walk along the Howth peninsula. A particularly good public path and steps lead from the bay up and around the Nose of Howth and onto the clifftops.


Balscadden's gravel beach today
Image: Michael Harpur


From a boating perspective, if it is not possible to secure a berth in Howth Marina or outside the harbour, this is an excellent alternative location in which to anchor given favourable conditions. The Bay is also a tranquil escape from the busy harbour which it fringes.


What facilities are available?
There are no facilities in Balscadden Bay save for a landing beach with steps and pathway up to the road above.


Any security concerns?
A vessel is most likely to be alone in Balscadden Bay, but it is uncertain how secure a dingy would be if left on the beach. Those with a fast outboard could land in the marina if it needs to be left unattended for some time.


With thanks to:
Charlie Kavanagh, ISA/RYA Yachtmaster Instructor/Examiner and Burke Corbett. Photography by Kinsie84, Jojo Nemcok, William Murphy, Daniel Dudek-Corrigan and Ana Rey.



















A family enjoying the beach area




A view of the bay from where Ireland's most famous poet W.B. Yeats stayed.




A taste of Yates poetry 'When You Are Old' read by Colin Farrell



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Add your review or comment:


Rodolphe Thimonier wrote this review on Jun 22nd 2016:

Good shelter from westerly and southerly winds Constant small swell in the bay Many rocks: => an entrance at low water (and by daylight) is advisable => the 2m contour line is very close to some rocks and certainly requires a short chain length => the 5m contour line has a good holding Minefield of lobster pots (at least in June) where not all pots are marked by a buoy

Average Rating: Unrated


Michael Harpur wrote this review on Aug 28th 2020:

Thank you Rodolphe, I have incorporated your very helpful observations into the main body of the text.

Average Rating: Unrated

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