Galway · With kids

A modest national aquarium at Salthill with a touch tank, rays and rescued seals. An hour and a half, and a fine answer to rain.

Two kilometres of seafront with a playground, a diving tower at Blackrock and shallow sand at low tide. Kicking the wall at the end is compulsory.

Ferry to Inis Mór or the smaller Inis Oírr, then bikes or a pony trap to a clifftop fort. A long day; from about eight.

Woodland gardens twenty minutes out at Rosscahill, laid out by Celtic season, with a fairy village, roundhouse and nature trail. Three to ten.

Four seasons before lunch is standard — waterproofs, always. Quay Street cafés keep high chairs, and the Aran crossing can be rough enough to warrant tablets.