When the blue-green horizon finally came into view, an inner excitement compelled her to pull over and stop in the first small layby she saw, overlooking a craggy cove several feet below. It reminded her of her childhood holidays when the whole family competed to be the first to see the sea. Keen to see the view, she hopped out of the car. Normally her aim was to get from A to B as quickly and efficiently as possible without stopping, but there was something about Ireland that made her want to act out of character. A stiff breeze lifted and tossed her curls, bringing with it the tang of salt and the faint scent of the heather. This definitely beat looking out at a drizzly Manchester through her office window. White-headed waves churned and raced over the outcrop of rocks below, the oily green sea boiling and frothing into the nooks and crannies. There was something about the sea that made you feel alive, she thought as she watched the dancing ebb and flow of the water. She lifted her head to watch brilliant white clouds scudding across a cobalt sky as the wind plastered her hair across her face and she realised, with a blooming sense of wonder, that if she hadn’t stopped she’d have missed this sense of exhilaration; the feeling of being alive and attuned to nature. Perhaps she ought to be a bit more adventurous instead of always taking the straight line. A punch of guilt hit her in the solar plexus. Maybe she shouldn’t have crept out of that hotel room like that. Conor had been fun and he’d made it clear he wasn’t expecting any great commitment or anything. She should have been braver and stayed to face him, like last night’s Hannah would have done. Too late now, although the hotel staff had seemed to know him – the barman at least. Was she being silly for wondering if she might track him down? And do what? Apologise for leaving like a big fat coward?

With an irritated shake of her head, she climbed back into the car and checked her watch. It was only quarter to one. Oh well, she could sit and wait in the car if she arrived too early.

Setting off again, she came to the turning she needed to take, clearly signposted to Killorgally Cookery School. Making a split-second decision, she drove past the turning, staying on the main road. She’d be daft to sit in her car when it was so beautiful out here. This was a golden opportunity to do a bit of exploring. As the road curled around the coast, she spotted an intriguing spit of land stretching out into the sea closely followed by signs for somewhere called Inch Beach. That would be the perfect place to stop and take a walk.