Annestown Beach

Annestown Beach sits tucked away below the village of Annestown. The village is tiny, about 25 houses dropping down a steep hill to the shore. Its Irish name, Bun Abha, means river's end, and a stream does run out across the sand, depending on the water levels. This whole stretch of coast is a UNESCO Global Geopark that has been slowly carved into coves, sea stacks and rugged arches. Along the western edge of the beach, tucked behind the edge of the cove, is a sea arch to experiment with capturing. Low tide is when the beach is at its most photogenic, revealing all its rocky platforms and giving you lots of space to spread out from the cliffs backing the beach. The coast faces south, so the sun tracks across in front of you rather than behind, so both ends of the day spread amazing light straight along the strand. Surf runs hard on this section of the coastline. Long exposures are fun to experiment with as the surf comes rolling in. Walking the cliff path east toward Benvoy gives you height to shoot over the beach, and the Anne Valley Walk heads 10 km inland from the village if you have the time to stretch out your photo adventure. The coast road runs right behind the sand with parking, and nothing to pay. It holds a Green Coast award, so the water is clean and the beach is looked after. Outside of tourist season in July and August. you will most likely have the beach all to yourself. (Annestown, County Waterford, Ireland)