Inside Bear Grylls' private Welsh Island home and the 80ft clifftop water slide that got him in big trouble
Survival expert Bear Grylls will be on our screens this week, as Netflix airs the brand new series Celebrity Bear Hunt. The intrepid explorer, author and TV presenter will be imparting his survival knowledge on a host of celebrities taking part in the adventure programme, such as Spice Girl Mel B, tennis ace Boris Becker and interior designer Laurence Llewelyn Bowen.
The show will be a high point in the star's already impressive career. But perhaps many fans may not know that the famous explorer has a connection to Wales. For the latest TV and showbiz gossip sign up to our newsletter.
In 2001, Grylls reportedly bought an island off the coast of Pen Llyn, Ynys Tudwal Fawr (St Tudwal's Island West), for around £95,000. The island measures around 700m long and 200m wide. According to North Wales Live, he and his wife Shara, their sons Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry, split their time between the island and London.
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But in 2013, the TV star landed himself in hot water after a slide was built off an 80ft cliff top on the island. According to the Independent in August of that year, the survival expert had taken to Twitter, now known as X, and tweeted a picture of the slide with the caption: "New slide attached at home on our island! You hit the water very fast!!!".
But the post sparked some concerns with Cyngor Gwynedd. A spokesperson for the authority at the time said that they were looking into the situation to find out whether Grylls had breached any planning rules by installing the slide off the coast of Abersoch. There were further concerns due to the fact that the slide could only be used for two hours a day, when the tide was in, and due to the fact the surrounding area was a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.
They said said: "Officers from the Council's Planning Service are investigating this case and will be discussing the matter with the site owner". In September that year, BBC News Wales reported that the explorer removed the controversial slide.
County councillor Wyn Williams confirmed that the slide had been removed for the winter. The councillor said: "He was never going to leave it there". He continued: "He stays there during August and he told me that it's not a permanent fixture. He would not allow it to be a permanent fixture in the winter months."
Meanwhile, in 2015, Grylls secured the backing of the council's planning officials for the development of a slipway at Ynys Tudwal Fawr, despite some opposition. The slipway would be used to give year round access to the island's lighthouse. Four years later, in July 2019, he re-submitted plans for the slipway at his retreat, with slight amendment to the original plans, according to North Wales Live. And in 2021, the star confirmed that the construction of a 129-metre slipway was underway and had now reached "mid build".
