literarywaterfront

Sandycove: the James Joyce Tower and the Forty Foot

The tower where Ulysses opens, the famous bathing place, and the seafront to the harbour.

Photo: Alessandro Ambrosetti / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

4 km

Time

~ 80 min

Difficulty

Moderate

Start

Sandycove & Glasthule (DART)

End

Dún Laoghaire (Mallin) (DART)

Best at

morning

Right now

23°C· Clear

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

Ulysses opens on the roof of a Martello tower at Sandycove, and you can stand on that exact roof for nothing — which makes this the most accessible piece of literary pilgrimage in Ireland. The walk pairs the tower with the cold-water swimming culture below it and the seafront back to Dún Laoghaire.

Four kilometres, best in the morning. Start at the James Joyce Tower, one of the squat coastal forts thrown up against a Napoleonic invasion that never came. Joyce stayed here a handful of nights in 1904 and put it on the first page of the century's most argued-over novel. Go up; the gun platform on the roof is open and free.

Below it, the Forty Foot — two hundred years of sea swimming, once men-only and bare, now everyone's. Watch the regulars take the steps without flinching. Round to Sandycove's small harbour and beach, then north along the Scotsman's Bay promenade, the bay open the whole way, the granite piers of Dún Laoghaire growing ahead. End at the harbour and the DART, the tower and the cold water behind you.

The route

On the map.

A soft dashed line, numbered stops. It’s a suggestion, not a turn-by-turn.

Elevation

↑ 93 m·↓ 88 m·0–21 m ASL

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

01
1
The James Joyce Tower & Museum
The Martello tower on the point where Ulysses opens — 'Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead.' Joyce stayed here six nights in 1904 as the guest of Oliver St John Gogarty. It's free to go up. Climb to the gun platform on the roof for the view Mulligan had over the bay.
01
The James Joyce Tower & Museum
The Martello tower on the point where Ulysses opens — 'Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead.' Joyce stayed here six nights in 1904 as the guest of Oliver St John Gogarty. It's free to go up. Climb to the gun platform on the roof for the view Mulligan had over the bay.
02
2
The Forty Foot
Below the tower, the *Forty Foot* — the bathing place where men swam (traditionally naked, traditionally men-only, now open to all) for two hundred years. People plunge in here on Christmas morning and most other mornings too. You don't have to swim; just watch the regulars go down the steps as if it were nothing.
02
The Forty Foot
Below the tower, the *Forty Foot* — the bathing place where men swam (traditionally naked, traditionally men-only, now open to all) for two hundred years. People plunge in here on Christmas morning and most other mornings too. You don't have to swim; just watch the regulars go down the steps as if it were nothing.
03
3
Sandycove harbour and beach
Round the point to the little sheltered harbour and its crescent of sand — calmer, gentler water than the Forty Foot, the spot families use. A good place to sit before the seafront walk north begins.
03
Sandycove harbour and beach
Round the point to the little sheltered harbour and its crescent of sand — calmer, gentler water than the Forty Foot, the spot families use. A good place to sit before the seafront walk north begins.
04
4
Scotsman's Bay promenade
The long curved promenade north toward Dún Laoghaire, with the bay open on your right and the granite harbour piers ahead. This is the seafront the whole town walks; sea swimmers, dog walkers, the lot. Stay on the sea side.
04
Scotsman's Bay promenade
The long curved promenade north toward Dún Laoghaire, with the bay open on your right and the granite harbour piers ahead. This is the seafront the whole town walks; sea swimmers, dog walkers, the lot. Stay on the sea side.
05
5
The Dún Laoghaire Baths
The redeveloped seafront baths on the approach to the harbour, once a grand Victorian sea-bathing complex. The view out over the water toward Howth across the bay is the reason to pause here.
05
The Dún Laoghaire Baths
The redeveloped seafront baths on the approach to the harbour, once a grand Victorian sea-bathing complex. The view out over the water toward Howth across the bay is the reason to pause here.
06
6
Dún Laoghaire harbour and the DART
End at the harbour mouth, where the East Pier begins and the DART station is a minute inland. If there's time, walk the East Pier out and back before the train — but the walk is complete the moment you reach the harbour.
06
Dún Laoghaire harbour and the DART
End at the harbour mouth, where the East Pier begins and the DART station is a minute inland. If there's time, walk the East Pier out and back before the train — but the walk is complete the moment you reach the harbour.

Sandycove: the James Joyce Tower and the Forty Foot

On the map.

Things to notice.

The James Joyce Tower & Museum

The James Joyce Tower & Museum

The Forty Foot

The Forty Foot

Sandycove harbour and beach

Sandycove harbour and beach

Scotsman's Bay promenade

Scotsman's Bay promenade

The Dún Laoghaire Baths

The Dún Laoghaire Baths

Dún Laoghaire harbour and the DART

Dún Laoghaire harbour and the DART

Two more, on similar days.

Dún Laoghaire: the great harbour and the piers

Dalkey and Killiney Hill: the Irish Riviera