Why Bear Grylls puts his faith in 'little adventures' with family

He is the world-famous expert in survival with an insatiable taste for adventure. But Bear Grylls believes we should all experience a walk on the wild side much closer to home

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YOU WON'T know real adventure in your life if you're a slave to your mobile phone, warns Britain’s most famous survival expert. Bear Grylls is a television phenomenon, with gargantuan audiences tuning in to watch his exploits in deserts, mountains, jungles and the wilderness — often in the company of luminaries such as Barack Obama and Julia Roberts.

But the 50-year-old father-of-three is more than an action man. He has won a global following because his celebration of resilience, courage and simple kindness strikes a chord with billions in a wired age.

This former SAS soldier is increasingly opening up about his faith and he encourages everyone to find room for adventure in their everyday lives — even if they are busy parents with little spare time or cash.

"Adventure is a state of mind - it’s how we live and how we interact with others and the world; it's how we parent as well," he enthused. "You don't need to go to the ends of the world to have a great adventure with your kids.

"Sometimes just camping out in the back garden is an adventure."

He wants adults to help young people use their phones with discipline and “understand the consequences of too much screen time”.

“A phone should be there to serve you and empower you for connections and information, not there to make you a slave to it,” he said.

Seeking the “outdoors and real adventure” he argued, is a “much more attractive alternative” to spending hours glued to a screen.

He follows his own advice...

Wife Shara and sons Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry have a home on a “small Welsh island hideaway”. He said that “hands down” this is the most beautiful place he knows.