Seaweed baths and stargazing in Sligo

Night hikes, horseback beach rides and a seaweed spa experience: this northwestern Irish gem offers a perfectly balanced break, finds Fionn Davenport

Astral show: venture out on a night hike for Sligo stargazing (North Adventure Tours)

It was a bit of a hard sell at first. “How about a quick trip to Sligo for a night hike to the top of a mountain and a bath in some seaweed?”

My wife Laura is usually pretty adventurous, but her enthusiasm was about as weak as a milky cup of tea. She said something about clambering through the woods in the dark, and why on earth would anyone enjoy getting into the cold ocean just to feel some seaweed against their skin?

All fair points, really, but once I’d explained that the seaweed was in an actual bath and that the bath was in a spa – and that the whole point of the night hike was to behold the majesty of a star-filled sky – her scepticism melted away. Then, the clincher... “and we’re going horse riding on the beach”.