Salterstown Pier is the locals’ gathering place, the place to swim and picnic and while away lazy summer days. Those in the know say it is the best spot hereabouts. The low pier wall serves both as a windbreak and buffet table, laden with fruits and snacks to keep the revellers going. Swimsuits and towels lie stretched out to dry and from barbeques the aroma of sausages wafts across Dundalk Bay, with the backdrop of the Cooley Mountains across the bay and the Mournes hazy in the distance.
Whether the tide is in or out, the pier provides a perfect walkway into the clear water, free from the pebbles on the seabed. As barefoot children run back and forth, teenagers dive into the deeper water and search for crabs while other swimmers tour the length of the shore as far as they wish. The water is clear here and, although there is little beach to speak of, swimming from the pier creates a sense of adventure not to be found so easily at the nearby and popular beaches of Annagassan and Clogherhead.
At a glance
Salterstown Pier is a long, narrow slipway reaching out into Dundalk Bay; the shore around it is stony and at low tide the sand is revealed. Walk or swim along the coast, north towards Annagasssan or south towards Dunany Point. Salterstown lies south of Dundalk and only 4km from Annagassan, which has a lovely long strand.
Excerpt from Wild Swimming in Ireland 2016, ISBN 978-1-84889-280-4
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