Grylls bears up on isle life

LIFE on a private island might sound dreamy but when it comes to his own personal getaway off the Welsh coast TV star Bear Grylls, pictured above, said people “think it’s more glamorous than it is”.

The 49-year-old real-life Action Man said life on his personal island near Abersoch, Gwynedd, was nowhere near as fancy as people might expect – even if he’s had a Hollywood A-lister to stay.

The television personality has owned the bolthole on Ynys Tudwal Fawr, also known as St Tudwal’s Island West, on the Llyn Peninsula since 2001, when he bought it for £95,000, but has now dispelled any notion that he gets to enjoy it in typical celebrity comfort.

Grylls, who is scheduled to travel to Costa Rica to present a new Netflix series called Bear Hunt alongside Holly Willoughby, revealed behind-thescenes photos from his adventures and anecdotes from his extraordinary life during a tour show in Cardiff on Friday.

He spoke fondly of his time on Ynys Tudwal Fawr, where he lives for part of the year, and described buying the island as the second-best thing he ever did after marrying wife Shara, 50.

“We’ve made some amazing memories living there and spending time with the boys on the island over the years, and just being able to have that space to enjoy nature, has been really special. But people always think that we must have somewhere really nice inside to go and all these fancy things but it’s not like that at all.”

Reality of life on the island has included initially only having an outdoor toilet, and coping with the unpredictable Welsh weather. Yet he added: “But, no, it’s been amazing. And we’ve had some great visitors like the time Bradley Cooper and his daughter came to stay. The weather conditions were terrible with rain that was just horizontal.”

Remembering the time fondly Bear said; “I’m going: ‘So what did first motivate you to come and spend your summer with us here in Wales?’ But I love it – great moments and what a cool guy.”