Murphy’s Bar Brandon
A family-run pub and restaurant at Brandon Pier, with food, local seafood and views across the bay. Check Instagram for current kitchen times.
Brandon Pier, Co. Kerry, V92 T680ModerateCoastal · Dingle
Sás Creek
Loop.
A coastal circuit from Brandon Point around the great natural amphitheatre of Sás Creek, crossing rough hillside above steep Atlantic cliffs.
Also known as Sauce Creek.
DISTANCE
7.98km
ASCENT
409m
HIGH POINT
318m
My time 3 hr 28 · exposed coastal ground GRADE GUIDE ↗
Reading the map…
INTERACTIVE TERRAIN · ACTUAL GPX TRACKACTUAL GPX TRACK
A recorded time is not a planning estimate. Build your own from pace, ascent, ground, weather and daylight.
01 · DECIDE
Is this your day?
ELEVATION PROFILE
32 m to 318 m.
The loop repeatedly rises and falls across the coastal slopes, reaching approximately 318 m above Sás Creek before returning to Brandon Point.
Reading the forecast
409 m ascent · 415 m descent
THE LINE
Around the trap-shaped creek.
Sás is a steep-sided inlet beneath the coastal slopes west of Brandon Point. The name is understood as a trap or a noose, which fits a cove closed in by high ground. The hill mapping sets Sauce Creek beside it rather than translating it, and Sauce reads like the sound of Sás written down by someone without the Irish, though I can’t confirm that. This loop looks into the place from above, crossing the upper stream and climbing the opposite side.
The inlet names its own ground
The mapping works this ground closely, and almost all of it is held in the one genitive. The mouth is Béal a’ tSáis, the back of the strand is Tóin a’ tSáis, the eastern wall is Faill a’ tSáis and the way down is Bóthair a tSáis. Around them sit Cúl Tráigh, Colú Dubh, Log Breac, Gleann na Stóice, Lorga and Faill Dubh, and the cliffs carry bare eisc labels wherever a gully cuts down. The place did not borrow a name from the townland behind it: it gave one to everything around itself.
Nóra Ní Laoithe’s gully
One of those gullies is named for a person. Eisc Nóra Ní Laoithe cuts the north side near the mouth, and I haven’t found anything that says who she was or what happened there. It is the same word as Eisc na bhFiach above the Hag’s Glen, and the same kind of gap: ground that has kept a woman’s full name, and no record within reach that can say why.
The families below
Tony Doherty’s 2008 account in the Irish Times describes a bay roughly 750 metres across, with cliffs rising about 300 metres behind it. He records three families farming the ground below during the nineteenth century, reaching their homes by the steep cliff route. The same article recounts a midwife’s fatal fall and connects it with the departure of the last household. That’s the published account; I haven’t found a dated record to set beside it.
The mapping marks a building on the back slope above the strand and calls it Tigh a’ tSáis, the house of the Sás. Whether that is one of the three, a later building, or a ruin that outlived them, I don’t know.
- 01Brandon Point startThe route begins at about 88 m and gains height quickly above the coast.
- 02Coastal traverseA rough hillside line crosses above steep Atlantic cliffs with Sás Creek opening ahead.
- 03Sás CreekThe route rounds the inlet, drops towards the upper stream and crosses before climbing the opposite side.
- 04High pointThe circuit reaches approximately 318 m on exposed coastal ground.
- 05Inland returnRough grass and old tracks lead east to close the loop near Brandon Point.
The dimensions, nineteenth-century households and midwife account come from Tony Doherty, Up Sauce Creek, Irish Times (1 November 2008) ↗. The historical cliff access described in that article is separate from this recorded loop above the cove. Sás and Sauce Creek, the tSáis names around the rim, Eisc Nóra Ní Laoithe and Tigh a’ tSáis are the names carried by EastWest Mapping’s hill mapping ↗ of the peninsula. Who Nóra Ní Laoithe was, and whether Tigh a’ tSáis is one of the households the article describes, are open: neither the mapping nor anything read for this page answers them.
Forecast for around 300 m
Reading the forecast…
NOW
WIND
TODAY’S PEAK RAIN CHANCE
Reading the forecast…
–cloud
–humidity
–km/h peak gust
Strongest wind today–
Peak gust–
RECENT RAINFALL · LIKELY GROUND
NEXT SIX HOURS · swipe
Reading the forecast
Forecast. This is a modelled estimate for this route’s high ground; conditions can differ sharply across the mountain. Derived from Open-Meteo forecast data ↗.
HAZARDS & OPTIONSKnow the commitment.
The route passes above very steep, unguarded coastal cliffs. Keep a wide margin from every edge, especially in wind, cloud or wet ground.
The crossing of Sás Creek and nearby rock can become slippery or unsafe after heavy rain. Do not force a swollen stream.
Steep grass, loose stone, bracken, boggy patches and hidden holes make sections slow and awkward.
The exposed coastal slopes have little shelter and can be difficult to navigate when cloud lowers.
Keep dogs under close control around livestock and cliff edges, and use a lead wherever required.
If the stream is high or the exposed traverse feels unsafe, reverse the known line before committing to the far side of the creek. Do not descend towards the cove or improvise a shortcut near the cliffs.
FROM THE MOUNTAIN
My photographs.
03 · GO
Getting there.
Start well.
ROUTE NOTES REVIEWED 12 AUGUST 2026STARTBrandon Point
Select coordinates to copy
The walk starts near Brandon Point. Parking is limited, so leave gates, lanes and turning space clear. This is a mixture of local tracks and open hillside rather than a consistently surfaced or waymarked trail. Confirm current access, follow local signs and respect livestock and landowners.
ROUTE FILE
Take the route with you.
The original GPX, exactly as walked. Load it into your watch, phone or offline mapping before you leave signal.
Distance, heights, track and time come from my GPX and GeoJSON, recorded on 9 June 2024. Check access, stream levels and local conditions before you go.
Download original GPXsas-creek-loop.gpx · as recorded
Confirm the download when your browser asks, then open the file from your browser’s downloads and your mapping app will offer to take it. HiiKER and Garmin Explore both do; the route loads on HiiKER’s free tier, though its EastWest mapping of the Irish uplands is a paid layer. Onto a watch: import the GPX into Garmin Connect, Komoot or Strava and send it to the device from there.
Give the cliffs a wide margin.
Moderate distance does not make exposed coastal ground forgiving.
Sás Creek combines unguarded cliffs, steep grass, a stream crossing and open navigation. A small change in wind, rain or visibility can make the same line substantially more serious.
Before you leave
- Check the forecast and warnings
- Plan your daylight
- Save the GPX or an offline map
- Pack footwear and layers
- Share your route and return time
- 01Check wind and rainAvoid the cliff-top ground in strong wind, low cloud or after sustained heavy rain.
- 02Stay back from edgesKeep a generous margin even where a trodden line appears close to the cliff.
- 03Judge the streamTurn back rather than force the crossing when water is high or rock is slippery.
- 04Navigate independentlyCarry suitable mapping and keep the return line clear before visibility deteriorates.
Leave a plan.
Tell someone your route and return time. For emergencies in Ireland call 112 or 999 and ask for Mountain Rescue.
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