What's the story here?

Lumsdin’s Bay is situated within the entrance to Waterford Harbour, on the eastern shore of the Hook Head peninsula and about 1½ miles northeastward of Hook Head. It is a secluded bay in an isolated location, where a road leads down to the beach facilitating boat launches.




The bay has limited protection save from easterly conditions. With a 1.7-metre plateau lying 150 metres off the beach, however, it is a serviceable temporary tide-wait anchorage, with a nice beach ashore.

How to get in?

Use the Port of Waterford for details of seaward approaches, entry to Waterford Harbour and the run up the estuary.

From the initial fix, set in the middle of the entrance, head northeast for the ‘Waterford’ port marker buoy and then pick up the No.1 and 2 buoys of the fairway. Alternatively, and particularly so for eastward approaching vessels, it is possible to freely round Hook Head and follow the peninsula’s western shoreline up to the bay. There is plenty of water and no off-lying dangers 300 metres from this coastline. Loftus Hall, a sizable headland estate ½ mile south of the anchorage, provides an excellent coastal mark for the approach to the bay.




Lumsdin’s Bay is best approached bearing southeast. On closer approaches the bay is readily identified by the ruins of a house that overlooks the beach. Likewise, a large sea wall will be seen on the south side of the beach. It protects the farm and houses above, as well as providing a rough track that allows public access to the main Hook Road.




Tuck in as far as draught permits to get the best southerly protection. Land on the beach by tender, taking care to avoid the rocky reefs at either end of the small inlet.

Why visit here?

Lumsdin’s Bay, otherwise referred to as Boyce’s Bay, is a beautiful golden-sand cove with wonderful rock pools. It is a great location to land a family and let them loose to play and swim. It also offers an excellent anchoring location to wait out a tide in the mouth of the estuary. The truly unique opportunity it provides, though, is walking access to the historic Loftus Hall.




Loftus Hall is the large mansion house seen ½ mile to the south and a short walk along the road. The original house, Redmond Hall, was built by Norman family the Redmonds. It was constructed in about 1350 to replace their original castle at the adjacent Houseland, near Portersgate. Subsequent Cromwellian confiscations in the aftermath of the Irish Confederate Wars, transferred the property and grounds to the Loftus family, following which it took on the name of Loftus Hall in 1666. The building you see today is an entire rebuild over the foundations of the original. This was built between 1870 and 1871 by the Fourthth Marquess of Ely. Less than half a century later, in 1917, the hall was bought by the Sisters of Providence, who turned it into a convent and school for young girls interested in joining the order. In 1983 the nuns departed and it became the Loftus Hall Hotel, which saw mixed fortunes and finally closed down in the late 1990s. Today it is once again under new ownership and open to visitors, providing a modern café and tours of the building whilst undergoing redevelopment.



For most Wexford people, Loftus Hall is the seat of its most famous ghost story. For Loftus, before its demolition and rebuild, was believed to be haunted by the devil and by the ghost of a young woman. The story dates back to 1766 and is redolent of a tale cast by the Brontë sisters, almost like Emily’s Wuthering Heights combined with Charlotte’s Jane Eyre. The tale began one night when the Loftus family were away on business, leaving Charles Tottenham, his wife, and daughter Anne to take care of the mansion in their absence. During a storm a ship unexpectedly arrived and anchored in a part of the estuary overlooked by the mansion. It was customary for the noble passengers to take shelter from storms at the Great Hall, so when a well-dressed young man arrived at the door looking for shelter from the driving rain, he was welcomed in. The weather remained broken for several days, and during his continued stay the man became very taken with Anne. They would spend hours in the tapestry room talking and longing for the rain to stop so they might take a stroll along the peninsula. Anne and the young man had become very close and a spiritual relationship sparkled between them.




Long, dark evenings were spent playing cards by the fire in the house’s large drawing room. Traditionally the men played at one table, while the ladies of the house played at another. One night it was particularly cold and both the men and the ladies moved their tables closer to the fire. By happenstance, Anne dropped a card to the floor. Bending down to pick it up, she chanced to glance beneath the table and saw that the mysterious man had cloven feet. Anne hurtled back, sending the men’s table flying. She screamed that the man had the feet of the devil, whereupon the man self-immolated, shooting up through the roof in a ball of flame. All that remained was the pungent smell of brimstone and a large hole agape in the ceiling.




Anne never recovered from the event and her mental health suffered. It is believed that the family were so ashamed of Anne’s flirtation with the demon that they locked her away in her favourite room, which was the Tapestry Room. Eventually she refused food and drink, and sat with her knees under her chin looking out of the window across the estuary. There she sat endlessly waiting for her mysterious stranger to return, until her untimely death in 1775. It is said that when she died they could not straighten her body as her muscles had seized in the seated position, and she was buried as such.




The hole in the roof could never properly be repaired thereafter and the cloven-hooved stranger returned to cause persistent poltergeist activity. Likewise, the ghost of a young woman, presumed to be Anne Tottenham, made frequent appearances in the old Hall, especially in the Tapestry Room. The house was exorcised several times, but this never fully resolved the problems. It was only when the building was completely demolished in 1871 by the Fourth Marquess of Ely that the preternatural events came to an end. Although the present Loftus Hall is an entirely new building, much of the skeleton of the original house can be found in the foundations and fabric of the current structure. Interest in the ghost story has remained strong and many aspects of the story seem to have attached themselves to the newer house.



Loftus Hall makes for a wonderful afternoon and, likewise, for those prepared to take a longer, 45-minute hike, there is the historic Hook Lighthouse, which is accessible from this anchorage. It has an excellent visitor centre, guided tours and a very good café.

What facilities are available?

This is a secluded bay with no facilities save for a good landing beach and a footpath/old cart track that leads up to the road. There is a café at Loftus Hall, while the village of Fethard-on-Sea, one hour’s walk, provides moderately good provisioning potential.

Any security concerns?

You are most likely to be completely alone and away from any interference at this beach.

With thanks to:

Burke Corbett, Gusserane, New Ross, Co. Wexford.