Great British beach activities: 10 best sea swims

For literary lovers

Forty Foot, Sandycove, Dublin

The James Joyce Tower in Sandycove, eight miles from Dublin, was built in 1804 as one of a series of Martello towers commissioned by William Pitt to withstand an invasion by Napoleon. The spirit of Ireland's greatest writer infuses not just his eponymous tower but also the Forty Foot, a seawater bathing area. Glide through the water and plot your novel (www.fortyfoot.org).