A jaunt to the islands is like a staycation abroad

Health, Beauty and Lifestyle with Denise McNamara

If there’s one piece of advice everybody arriving on an Irish island should be armed with, it’s this: don’t say a word about anyone. Good or bad. Because the chances are you are talking about their relation, neighbour, ex-lover or friend. And whether you are heaping praise on them or running them into the ground, it has the potential to get sticky.

We found it time and again when we when he recently spent a night on Inis mór, the largest of three Aran Islands.

And now the second bit of advice: if you have ever in your life visited this island for a day trip, it’s time to do so again. And this time stay at least a night or two because you’ll have more to do there during a staycation than you would in an action-packed European city.

With the luxury of travelling from the city on the splendid new boat with Aran Island Ferries called Saoirse na Farraige which departs and arrives at the docks, we were blessed with a lovely morning so got to do the crossing from the top deck.

The first thing we did on disembarking was head for Aran Bike Hire where we were promptly kitted out with suitable bikes (€15 adults €10 kids). I happened to get the last electric bike (€40) in the shop and boy is it worth the extra cash.

Even the fittest would struggle up some of those hills; I looked every inch the smug momma as I sailed on by with minimal effort, apologising as I did for cheating. One tip my three cycling companions were very grateful for was to head down the road opposite Tigh Joe Watty’s, avoiding the very nastiest hill on the way to Dun Aonghasa while taking in the seal colony.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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