Starring role for kayaks and pods in duos vlog

THE areas around Drimoleague and Skibbereen have got a starring role in a video blog by popular travel vloggers the Vagabrothers.

Their new online film – Kayaking Ireland’s Wild Coast  – is the latest in a series of videos, or ‘vlogs’, showing the duo travelling the Wild Atlantic Way.

The latest video log sees the duo waking up at the Top of the Rock Pod Páirc in Drimoleague and then driving towards Skibbereen to meet with kayaker Jim Kennedy and his wife Maria.

At the Pod Páirc the brothers each had the use of a luxurious all-weather camping pod and the chance to sample home-made scones and produce from the neighbouring Glenilen Farm. 

A walk to Castledonovan helped to build up the Vagabrothers’ appetite for a West Cork dinner at O’Connor’s Seafood Restaurant in Bantry where they got to sample seafood chowder and some very fine fish and chips. 

The pair earlier began their Irish foodie adventure in Cork City before heading to Kinsale where they tried their hand at fishing with Angling Kinsale and caught cod and ling that were cooked for them for lunch at Crackpots Restaurant. 

The brothers filmed their adventures at sea as well as their lunch for their viewers. 

In the latest 12-minute film, viewers see the brother kayaking from Squince Harbour with the couple, foraging for seaweed as they go. 

The film includes some wonderful drone footage of the spectacular coastline around Skibbereen. 

The brothers visit The Coffee Shop in Union Hall, where they enjoy a seaweed salad. 

Then it is on to Gubbeen Cheese, to meet Fingal Ferguson and sample the famous farmhouse cheese.

At the end of the video the boys rave about their time in West Cork, saying they hope to return.

The Vagabrothers are brothers Marko and Alex Ayling from California, and their series of nine Ireland films is being shared by the brothers on YouTube where they have over 57,000 subscribers. Marko and Alex are also sharing details of their Irish trip with their 22,000 followers on Instagram, 17,000 fans on Facebook and their 7,500 Twitter followers (@vagabrothers).

Travel blogging is an increasingly popular genre among the younger foodie tourists Fáilte Ireland is looking to attract to West Cork. Durrus Cheese on the Sheep’s Head peninsula was recently named as one of the top five foods on the Wild Atlantic Way, and the vlogging that the Vagabrothers do so successfully provides a new avenue through which West Cork’s reputation for fine foods and a great food production culture can be promoted. To watch their trip to Ireland, search ‘Vagabrothers Ireland’ on YouTube.