You might not think of Dublin as a great swimming city, but just south, an easy 20-minute ride on the DART railway, is a magical spot for a revitalizing plunge into the Irish Sea. Called the Forty Foot, for reasons that are apparently lost to history, it was recently made famous by the Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters, in which Sharon Horgan, Eve Hewson, and the rest of the titular sorority seemingly spend half the series bobbing in the waves or wet-haired and bundled up on the rocks. Sure, they’re plotting to murder their awful brother-in-law, but they’re also getting fresh air and wholesome exercise. You might say the Forty Foot is the Bad Sisters equivalent of the Bada Bing!, but outdoors, picturesque, and not piggish. For a water-lover like me, it looked irresistible on TV.
The site is a rocky cove at the end of a small promontory jutting out into Dublin Bay. You get off at the DART’s Sandycove & Glasthule station and then walk for 15 minutes or so along a pretty waterfront park. There is no sand at the Forty Foot. It’s not a place to lounge with a good book—there’s a proper beach along the way if that’s more your thing—but the rocks are comfortable to sit on, and there are a few alcoves for discreet, towel-assisted changing.
