TV adventurer Bear Grylls has revealed he and his wife ditched plans to buy a regular apartment in favour of an off-grid island with no roof, no power and no running water.
Grylls, 52, said the unconventional purchase came after the pair baulked at the cost of a London flat, which was priced at about $288,000 in 2001.
Instead, they acquired both a Thames houseboat and the 8ha private island for less than the price of the city unit.
“There were many who thought us crazy,” Grylls said in a recent social media post. “The best adventures start with nay-sayers. Thank you Shara for being brave and saying yes!”
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Adventurer and television star Bear Grylls. Picture: Supplied.
Grylls has revealed he and his wife ditched plans to buy a regular apartment in favour of an off-grid island with no roof, no power and no running water. Picture: Bear Grylls/Instagram
While the move divided followers over whether buying a private island was relatable, Grylls said the rugged outpost was derelict when they took the keys.
“The island had a 200-year-old lighthouse and two lightkeeper’s cottages, but were derelict with no power, no water, no roof, and rats,” he said in an interview with the Sunday Times in 2021.
“I remember my first bath sitting in 3 inches of water pumped from the old tanks we’d cleaned out.
“There was rubble everywhere and rain coming through, but it was a great moment.”
Grylls said the unconventional purchase came after the pair baulked at the cost of a London flat, which was priced at about $288,000 in 2001. Picture: Bear Grylls/Instagram
Located 8km offshore and surrounded by sea cliffs, seals and dolphins, the island has remained off-grid for more than two decades.
The couple converted the two dilapidated cottages into a single four-bedroom home with 60cm-thick limestone walls designed to withstand savage Atlantic gales.
“When those gales come in, you can still feel it almost shake,” Grylls said. “Sea spray reaches the windows despite the 45m elevation.”
Accessing the retreat proved an ordeal in itself, requiring the family to negotiate the open sea in an 9m rigid inflatable ex-lifeboat powered by twin 300-horsepower engines.
There’s now a four-bedroom home and a lighthouse. Picture: Bear Grylls/Instagram
Located 8km offshore and surrounded by sea cliffs, seals and dolphins, the island has remained off-grid for more than two decades. Picture: Bear Grylls/Instagram
It took 10 years to secure planning permission for a slipway, which was completed only a few years ago.
“It has been life-changing for us,” Grylls said. “Previously we had to keep a boat on a mooring, row ashore, and walk a mile up the beach with all the shopping.”
While the couple host guests, visitors are warned they must be prepared to get stranded if the weather turns.
The British survivalist recently made headlines for his connection to comedian Russell Brand.
The entertainer was recently found guilty of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
Grylls took part in Brand’s baptism in the River Thames earlier this year following joint filming across the Hebrides Islands.
The TV personality posted on X that “judgment is for the courts and God” and that justice had been served.
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