Archive · 11 Oct 2026
Bear Grylls’ Family Runs Welsh Island Home Off-Grid
Bear Grylls and his family spend part of the year on a small island in Wales.
Their home is not connected to the usual electricity or water networks.
A wind turbine and solar panels make electricity.
They collect rainwater from the roof to use in the house.
When Bear bought the island, its buildings were in poor condition and had no running water.
He and his friends spent four years fixing them up.
The family travels by boat and brings supplies from the mainland.
Bear says the island gives him a quiet place away from work, though it can feel lonely.
Bear Grylls and his wife, Shara, bought St Tudwal’s Island West in 2001.
The 20-acre island is off the Llŷn Peninsula near Abersoch, North Wales.
A wind turbine and solar panels supply electricity without a national-grid connection.
The family collects roof rainwater; the property initially lacked running water.
Four years of renovation turned neglected cottages into a four-bedroom family retreat.
- Who
- Bear Grylls, his wife Shara and their family.
- What
- They maintain an off-grid island home using wind, solar power and collected rainwater.
- When
- They bought the island in 2001 and spend part of each year there.
- Where
- St Tudwal’s Island West, off the Llŷn Peninsula near Abersoch in North Wales.
- Why
- Grylls values the island as a quiet retreat from filming, meetings and public life.
Reasons the island appeals
Challenges of island living
Privacy and quiet
Reasons the island appeals
Grylls values the island as a quiet place away from filming commitments, meetings and public life.
Challenges of island living
He has also said that the property can feel isolating.
Self-sufficiency
Reasons the island appeals
Wind, solar panels and roof-collected rainwater let the home function without connections to national utility networks.
Challenges of island living
The family must plan around available resources, transport supplies by boat and deal with periods when water may be limited.
Restoration and access
Reasons the island appeals
Renovation transformed neglected buildings into a family home for stays outdoors.
Challenges of island living
The buildings were in poor condition, and obtaining permission to build a slipway took a lengthy process.
- Property
- St Tudwal’s Island West
- Size
- 20 acres
- Location
- Off the Llŷn Peninsula near Abersoch, North Wales
- Purchase
- Bought by Bear and Shara Grylls in 2001
- Electricity
- Generated using a small wind turbine and solar panels
- Water
- Rainwater is collected from the roof
- Renovation
- Bear Grylls and friends spent four years renovating the property
- Home
- The restored property is a four-bedroom home