
Templetown Bay is located on the southeast coast of Ireland, upon the eastern shores of the entrance to Waterford Harbour and 4 miles northward of Hook Head lighthouse. It is a secluded and picturesque anchorage with good holding.
Templetown is an exposed anchorage in settled conditions that should be considered only as a day-anchorage, lunchtime stop or tide-wait location. It is not usable in any strong westerly component conditions, but is excellent in anything easterly or settled conditions. The wide, unhindered and well-marked Waterford Harbour estuary provides safe access night or day, and at any stage of the tide.
Keyfacts for Templetown Bay
Last modified
March 21st 2022 Summary
An exposed location with straightforward access.Facilities
Nature
Considerations
Position and approaches
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Haven position
Off the beach in the 2.5-metre LWS contour.
What is the initial fix?
The following Waterford Harbour marked channel initial fix will set up a final approach:

What are the key points of the approach?
Offshore details are available in southeastern Ireland’s coastal overview for Rosslare Harbour to Cork Harbour
. Seaward approaches and the run up the harbour are covered in the Port of Waterford
entry.
Not what you need?
Click the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons to progress through neighbouring havens in a coastal 'clockwise' or 'anti-clockwise' sequence. Below are the ten nearest havens to Templetown Bay for your convenience.
Ten nearest havens by straight line charted distance and bearing:
- Dollar Bay - 1 nautical miles NNW
- Lumsdin's Bay - 1.2 nautical miles S
- Creadan Head - 1.7 nautical miles W
- Slade - 2.6 nautical miles S
- Duncannon - 2.9 nautical miles NNW
- Baginbun Bay - 3 nautical miles E
- Fethard On Sea - 3.2 nautical miles ENE
- Dunmore East - 3.5 nautical miles WSW
- Bannow Bay - 4.1 nautical miles ENE
- Arthurstown - 4.1 nautical miles NNW
These havens are ordered by straight line charted distance and bearing, and can be reordered by compass direction or coastal sequence:
- Dollar Bay - 1 miles NNW
- Lumsdin's Bay - 1.2 miles S
- Creadan Head - 1.7 miles W
- Slade - 2.6 miles S
- Duncannon - 2.9 miles NNW
- Baginbun Bay - 3 miles E
- Fethard On Sea - 3.2 miles ENE
- Dunmore East - 3.5 miles WSW
- Bannow Bay - 4.1 miles ENE
- Arthurstown - 4.1 miles NNW
What's the story here?

Image: Michael Harpur
Templetown Bay is situated within the entrance to Waterford Harbour, on the eastern shore of the Hook Head peninsula, about 4 miles northward of Hook Head. It is a secluded bay in an isolated location.
The bay has limited protection, save from easterly conditions. However, with the 2-metre contour lying less than 150 metres off the beach, it is ideal temporary anchorage to land on a quiet, out-of-the-way beach.
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How to get in?

Image: Michael Harpur
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, with no off-lying dangers 300 metres off this coastline.

Image: Michael Harpur
On closer approaches, the bay is readily identified by a church set back ¼ mile from the beach, with a public house close north of it.
Why visit here?
Templetown derives its name from the Knights Templar, who took ownership of this area after the Norman invasion and used the region as a centre for their operations.
Image: Michael Harpur
The Knights Templar, or simply Templars, is a shortening of the ‘The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon’, or ‘The Order of Solomon’s Temple’. They were formed in Jerusalem in 1118 to protect that city, as well as Pilgrims visiting holy sites in the Middle East. Later they adopted the Cistercian rule and were officially recognised by Pope Innocent II in 1130. The Templars led the invasion of the Middle East and in doing so, their striking uniform of white mantles with a red cross became emblematic.

Image: Michael Harpur
The Templars were well established in England at the time of the invasion of Ireland, so it was natural that the organisation should follow the Norman armies; some individual invading Knights were believed to be Templars. When in 1171 King Henry II landed in Waterford, he came to secure his control of the conquest. The invasion’s leader, Strongbow, had become heir to the ‘Kingdom of Leinster’ and Henry II began to fear the establishment of a rival Norman state in Ireland. He established the Knights Templar on both sides of the Waterford Estuary, deploying them in the same role as during the crusades and throughout Europe – providing security at key strategic points. At the time, Waterford Harbour was the principal corridor between Britain and southeast Ireland, and the Templars would protect estuary access. On the east side, he granted them the Hook Peninsula, south of a line from Duncannon to Carnivan, and this was to become their base. Settling into Templetown the Knights Templar became a part of Norman society throughout Ireland for over a century, until the order was entirely destroyed in 1308.

Image: Public Domain
Deeply in debt to the Templars, and unable or unwilling to repay what he owed, this turn of events presented the king with a chance to cancel his debt by eliminating the order. He played on their secretive nature by seizing upon wild (and almost certainly false) heresy accusations made against the order by a recently expelled and embittered Templar. On Friday 13 October 1307, he raided all of the order’s residences across France, arresting all Templars and seizing their properties. The captives were tortured until they confessed to numerous absurd charges (included idolatry, defamation of church objects and homosexuality), following which they were burned at the stake. The conjured scandals so shocked medieval Europe that Philip was able to force Pope Clement V, then living in Avignon and almost entirely under his control, to have the order disbanded in 1312. The Templars were arrested In Ireland, as in the rest of Europe, and imprisoned in Dublin Castle before being tried in St Patrick’s Cathedral in 1310. While there was no torture used in Ireland, accusations based on hearsay were hurled at the Knights, but no evidence could be found and no confessions were forthcoming. The Templars, mostly older Knights in Ireland and not expected to give much trouble if left alone, were admonished to be good Christians and pensioned off. Their properties were either taken by the Crown or transferred to the Hospitallers.

Image: Michael Harpur
The abrupt disappearance of a major European organisation that had existed for almost two centuries gave rise to speculation, legends and conspiracy theories. This, alongside their distinctive dress, has kept the Templar name alive in images of the Middle Eastern Crusades and in literature, notably Dan Brown’s fantasy novel the The Da Vinci Code. The best Irish link to the Templar Knights is found here in Templetown, where the Templars owned lands and houses. The ruins of their 13th-century church stand proudly above the beach. On the ground to the left of the church, a stone slab bears a Templar seal of a lamb and crucifix, while within the churchyard, the grave slabs mark the burial sites of “Poor Fellow-Soldiers”. The church’s unusual castellated tower is thought to have been built at a later stage for protection against warring Gaelic clans; other parts were added to by the Knights Hospitaller and the Loftus estate.

Image: Michael Harpur
Today Templetown Bay offers a beautiful, tiny and secluded beach on which to land and let the family loose. Templetown church is a short stroll up through the rural fields and provides access to one of Ireland’s very few and best Knights Templar touchstones, within which a visitor is free to wander. Alongside it is an excellent pub to have lunch. From a boating point of view, Templetown Bay is also an excellent place to wait out a tide.
What facilities are available?
This is a secluded bay with no facilities save for a good landing beach and a rough farm track that gradually ascends to the road. A few awkward fences and gates, which are especially set up to be uncompromising and dissuasive for the causal stroller, will have to be scaled.Any security concerns?
You are most likely to be completely alone at this beach and away from any interference.With thanks to:
Burke Corbett, Gusserane, New Ross, Co. Wexford. Photography with thanks to Michael Harpur and Burke Corbett.
About Templetown Bay
Templetown derives its name from the Knights Templar, who took ownership of this area after the Norman invasion and used the region as a centre for their operations.

Image: Michael Harpur
The Knights Templar, or simply Templars, is a shortening of the ‘The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon’, or ‘The Order of Solomon’s Temple’. They were formed in Jerusalem in 1118 to protect that city, as well as Pilgrims visiting holy sites in the Middle East. Later they adopted the Cistercian rule and were officially recognised by Pope Innocent II in 1130. The Templars led the invasion of the Middle East and in doing so, their striking uniform of white mantles with a red cross became emblematic.

Image: Michael Harpur
The Templars were well established in England at the time of the invasion of Ireland, so it was natural that the organisation should follow the Norman armies; some individual invading Knights were believed to be Templars. When in 1171 King Henry II landed in Waterford, he came to secure his control of the conquest. The invasion’s leader, Strongbow, had become heir to the ‘Kingdom of Leinster’ and Henry II began to fear the establishment of a rival Norman state in Ireland. He established the Knights Templar on both sides of the Waterford Estuary, deploying them in the same role as during the crusades and throughout Europe – providing security at key strategic points. At the time, Waterford Harbour was the principal corridor between Britain and southeast Ireland, and the Templars would protect estuary access. On the east side, he granted them the Hook Peninsula, south of a line from Duncannon to Carnivan, and this was to become their base. Settling into Templetown the Knights Templar became a part of Norman society throughout Ireland for over a century, until the order was entirely destroyed in 1308.

Image: Public Domain
Deeply in debt to the Templars, and unable or unwilling to repay what he owed, this turn of events presented the king with a chance to cancel his debt by eliminating the order. He played on their secretive nature by seizing upon wild (and almost certainly false) heresy accusations made against the order by a recently expelled and embittered Templar. On Friday 13 October 1307, he raided all of the order’s residences across France, arresting all Templars and seizing their properties. The captives were tortured until they confessed to numerous absurd charges (included idolatry, defamation of church objects and homosexuality), following which they were burned at the stake. The conjured scandals so shocked medieval Europe that Philip was able to force Pope Clement V, then living in Avignon and almost entirely under his control, to have the order disbanded in 1312. The Templars were arrested In Ireland, as in the rest of Europe, and imprisoned in Dublin Castle before being tried in St Patrick’s Cathedral in 1310. While there was no torture used in Ireland, accusations based on hearsay were hurled at the Knights, but no evidence could be found and no confessions were forthcoming. The Templars, mostly older Knights in Ireland and not expected to give much trouble if left alone, were admonished to be good Christians and pensioned off. Their properties were either taken by the Crown or transferred to the Hospitallers.

Image: Michael Harpur
The abrupt disappearance of a major European organisation that had existed for almost two centuries gave rise to speculation, legends and conspiracy theories. This, alongside their distinctive dress, has kept the Templar name alive in images of the Middle Eastern Crusades and in literature, notably Dan Brown’s fantasy novel the The Da Vinci Code. The best Irish link to the Templar Knights is found here in Templetown, where the Templars owned lands and houses. The ruins of their 13th-century church stand proudly above the beach. On the ground to the left of the church, a stone slab bears a Templar seal of a lamb and crucifix, while within the churchyard, the grave slabs mark the burial sites of “Poor Fellow-Soldiers”. The church’s unusual castellated tower is thought to have been built at a later stage for protection against warring Gaelic clans; other parts were added to by the Knights Hospitaller and the Loftus estate.

Image: Michael Harpur
Today Templetown Bay offers a beautiful, tiny and secluded beach on which to land and let the family loose. Templetown church is a short stroll up through the rural fields and provides access to one of Ireland’s very few and best Knights Templar touchstones, within which a visitor is free to wander. Alongside it is an excellent pub to have lunch. From a boating point of view, Templetown Bay is also an excellent place to wait out a tide.
Other options in this area
Click the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons to progress through neighbouring havens in a coastal 'clockwise' or 'anti-clockwise' sequence. Alternatively here are the ten nearest havens available in picture view:
Coastal clockwise:
Dollar Bay - 0.6 miles NNWDuncannon - 1.8 miles NNW
Arthurstown - 2.6 miles NNW
Ballyhack - 2.9 miles NNW
Seedes Bank - 3.4 miles NNW
Coastal anti-clockwise:
Lumsdin's Bay - 0.7 miles SSlade - 1.6 miles S
Baginbun Bay - 1.9 miles E
Fethard On Sea - 2 miles ENE
Bannow Bay - 2.6 miles ENE
Navigational pictures
These additional images feature in the 'How to get in' section of our detailed view for Templetown Bay.








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