Bear Grylls, the survival expert and television presenter, owns a private island off the coast of Wales. Saint Tudwal's Island West, located off the Llyn Peninsula, is a rocky outcrop with only one building—a lighthouse. The adventurer describes it as "the coolest home on the planet."
The Island Purchase
Grylls bought the island in 2001 for a reported £95,000 when he was 25 years old. It had a 200-year-old lighthouse and two lightkeeper's cottages, but they were derelict with no power, water, or roof. In an interview with The Times, he said: "It took about ten years to gain permission to build a slipway on the island. It has been life-changing for us. Previously we had to keep a boat on a mooring, row ashore and walk a mile up the beach with all the shopping."
The Grade II listed lighthouse was built in 1877 and automated in 1921. Since 1995 it has run on solar power. The tower stands at 10.7 metres and retains its original optic, glass lenses, and prisms, dated 1876 from Chance Brothers & Co.
Life on the Island
The island has no mains electricity or running water, and mobile phone coverage is limited. Grylls often shares videos on social media showing the landscape, including drone footage from his man-cave. In a Facebook video, he commented: "This place has been one of the greatest things we ever bought as a family … it's become what I believe is the coolest home on the planet!"
Wildlife includes grey seals, porpoises, bottle-nose dolphins, and birds such as razorbills, choughs, gulls, and guillemots. Grylls has been spotted meeting a Waitrose delivery van on the shoreline using an amphibious vehicle. In 2023, he posted a photo of his wife Shara relaxing, saying: "A happy place for Shara and me... she loves to read and I love to soak up the Welsh sun and swim!"
Renovations and Features
In April 2021, modernisation of the lighthouse began, including installing LED lighting under project engineer Phil Hawtin. Materials and machinery were delivered by boat and helicopter, and three recycled huts from the 2017 Mumbles Lighthouse project provided shelter for workers. Lighthouse technicians Ian Arthur and Phil Horner supervised on site. Phil Hawtin told Trinity House: "On a few occasions some of the team were lucky enough to meet Bear and his family when they popped their heads through the lighthouse door to say a neighbourly hello. Bear's two dogs were often found seeking out members of the team for a good old belly rub too."
Documentary maker Louis Theroux visited the island and was shown a bar built into the cliff face and an inflatable hot tub. Grylls described the spot as "his happy place." In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2022, he said: "It is surrounded by amazing sea cliffs, seals, and dolphins. It is my favourite place on the planet!"
