BEAR GRYLLS We chat to the adventurer ahead of his visit to Powderham Castle

Bear Grylls, arriving in style

BEAR

DOWN

This August Bank Holiday weekend, Bear Grylls and a host of TV personalities will be descending on Powderham Castle for the Nature Valley Gone Wild Festival. We caught up with Bear to fi nd out about the action-packed weekend ahead and to discover how an outdoorsy adventurer like him coped under lockdown... By Harriet Noble

Just when you think festivals have diversified enough (food, car, yoga festivals etc.) another one pops up that has you thinking, ooh that’s a good idea. Enter the Nature Valley Gone Wild Festival, a weekend dedicated to championing wild outdoor adventures. And who better to host it than TV adventurer and former soldier in the British Special Forces, Bear Grylls. The festival is pitched very much as a family weekend, and will see an all-star group of adventurers, explorers, and TV favourites giving workshops and leading activities. The inspiring group, including Steve Backshall and Nicola Adams, all have amazing stories to share about their lives and their tales of triumph over adversity. And then, come evening time, the bands come out to play and then it’s time to relax with a drink, something to eat and party time. Bear tells us more…

This is the first Gone Wild Festival, what was the draw for you to get involved? My good friend and former Royal Marine, Oli Mason and I ran an event with the Scouts and Cadets. We had 100s of kids running around, getting wet, muddy and having the best time. Afterwards Oli suggested that we do it on a bigger scale, while raising money for the Royal Marines Charity, and that was it! Oli is an Exeter local, and Powderham Castle seemed the perfect location with fantastic fields and a lake we can use for activities and watersports. It means a lot to be able to support a veteran, while raising money for charity and inspiring families to spend time together outdoors.

There are so many activities lined up (axe throwing, archery etc.) Can you do all those things?! I’m really lucky, with my job I get to experience lots of adventures in some super cool places. We’ve designed the festival to

Crouching tiger, Bear Grylls

make it accessible for everyone to try most things, but I don’t think you’ll find me on the skate ramp!

What are you really looking forward to at the festival? It’s been a rubbish year and like so many I haven’t been able to see my friends! I’m looking forward to having a catch-up and spending time with my family before the kids go back to school.

How has your lockdown been for you, being such an active person? In some ways it’s been great, I needed to slow down and reset, I’ve loved spending more time at home. I did manage to stay active by doing Be Military Fit workouts everyday and going for runs. We were also lucky that we managed to get some filming done and I did lots on our new YouTube Channel with my son, which I loved.

The winning team behind the Festival: Oli Mason and Bear Grylls Your TV shows and books are about surviving under adversity, achieving goals and staying positive – what advice do you give when it comes to looking after ourselves, both physically and mentally? Humans are amazing and capable of way more than they think. I always encourage people to push way beyond their perceived boundaries, and most importantly never give up. I live by those three words, and it’s served me well in some dark times.

It’s been tricky to keep motivated under lockdown. Do you ever just not feel like exercising? My military background has given me great discipline. Like most people there are days when I just can’t be bothered, but the hardest thing is putting your trainers on. They’re the days that you get the most reward and feel really great afterwards. “I always encourage people to push way beyond their perceived boundaries”

What have you got lined up for this year – any more TV shows? We have so many heroes to take on adventures this year, it’s going to be great. I can’t say too much now but stay tuned...

The festival is at the great Powderham Castle, near Exeter. Any other favourite hangout spots in Devon? That’s easy. The Commando Training Centre in Lympstone. I’m so proud to be an honorary Royal Marines Colonel and I try and visit the young recruits as much as I can. My son wants to join the Navy so I’m also a big fan of Dartmouth. n

Nature Valley Gone Wild Festival with Bear Grylls is on 26-29 August at Powderham Castle, Devon. There are a variety of camping/glamping options; www.gonewildfestival.com

THE WILD LINE-UP

DAY-TIME ACTIVITIES INCLUDE…

Kayaking, stand up paddleboarding on Powderham Lake, open water group swimming in the Exe Estuary, raft building, sailing, outdoor fitness with Be Military Fit, 5km and 10km morning runs around Powderham Estate, kids one mile fun run, adventure obstacle course, tranquil yoga sessions, climbing and abseiling, target archery, knife and axe throwing, drag queen story hour, camp fire cooking, and shelter building.

Melanie C, aka Sporty Spice The Festival will take place in the beautiful grounds of Powderham Castle

Zip wire fun

Water activities on the lake

NIGHT-TIME FUN

Bands performing include Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Morcheeba, Melanie C, Scouting for Girls, Dick and Dom, The Ministry of Sound Classical and there’ll also be a silent disco.

Boxing hero Nicola Adams

Festival fun with live music 90s favourites Morcheeba

© TRUE TO NATURE LTD Explorer Steve Backshall