Last week we spent a few nights in beautiful Co Clare with our friends, the Parlon family. I’m still wrapped in the cloak of friendship and fun after the lovely time we had in Spanish Point. The chat was mighty, the banter stimulating and the sound of the sea was soothing and exhilarating.

I am always in awe of the sea. I think it’s because I was born in the midlands and going to the seaside was a big excursion.

Climbing on the rocks was a family adventure and the picnic that my parents would have prepared was scrumptious, peppered with sand.

We stood shivering, draped in loose towels, eating a few bites before we’d be jumping in the waves again.

What I remember most is the laughter and in Clare we were laughing again.

A wandering bullock

Ireland is spectacularly beautiful. The raw and rugged coastal areas of Co Clare are loud and aggressive, calm and serene. It’s a place where you can be just in the moment and live without the worries of life for a little while.

So much of life’s wonderful moments are captured in our memories and storytelling. We told them all again.

Young and old remembered the time that bullock or heifer got away and how the whole family were involved in the capture of the wandering beast. Farming is a wonderful way of binding a family together, even if those times are stressful.

On the way to Clare, Tim mentioned that maybe we should try to visit the Aran Islands as neither of us had ever been there. An idea like that can slip away unless someone grabs it.

I decided that I’d bring it to fruition. A bit of internet searching brought me to Thomas Faherty Tours, a pony and trap guided tour around the beautiful island of Inis Mór, the largest of the three islands. Tim was exploring the weather forecasts.

We took in the sights of the vastness of Galway Bay, peppered with the dark sailed Galway Hookers

We settled on Sunday. I booked the tour via email and I was answered several times advising about ferry times and so on. It transpired that Tim had booked the wrong ferry time from Doolin pier, on my advice. A quick phone call to that office had it changed in seconds.

Then the news had to be broken to the five travelling to Inis Mór that they would need to be out of their beds by 7am. There was full compliance.

We were all taken aback by the crowds travelling on the ferries to the various islands. It was fabulous to see how well run the ferries are, the staff were efficient and kept everyone moving.

There was a large number of American visitors travelling across. We ended up singing The Wild Rover and The Galway Girl for them as they wanted to hear the words of songs they had heard in the pub.

There was a great holiday atmosphere. We disembarked and found a little place for breakfast. Cheese toasties were procured from one little hut. The teas and coffees had to be drawn from the local Spar. The sun was shining and we were happy.

The tour

After breakfast, we returned to the pier to find Thomas. We were introduced to his two beautiful white horses, Olaf and Luna. There were 12 people in the carriage. Thomas was a superb guide.

Having grown up on the island, his knowledge has historical depth and his beautiful stories are of a simple rural and rustic life.

Cattle and horses grazed in small little fields surrounded by stone walls that speak of an ancient craft. You really have to visit to get the islanders’ way of life.

We ate well in the Aran Seafood Café. We took in the sights of the vastness of Galway Bay, peppered with the dark sailed Galway Hookers. We visited the various sites including the magnificent Dún Aonghasa, a prehistoric hill fort on the edge of the cliffs.

In hindsight, we need not have booked anything as there are numerous jarveys and hop-on, hop-off buses waiting to take the visitors around the island.

There is also a vast bike for hire business. Horse drawn carriages, bikes, buses and walkers move easily around the island.