Inside the Radfords’ snowy weekend away in £40k motorhome – as mum-of-22 Sue shares the nifty way she gets alone time
BRITAIN’S biggest family are making the most of the UK’s snowy spell by taking their large family on a weekend away in their motorhome.
Mum-of-22 Sue Radford, from Morecambe, Lancashire, showed her kids happily playing in the snow outside their motorhome.
Sue and Noel, who star in Channel 5’s 22 Kids and Counting, often take their bumper brood away in their van, which retails for £40,000.
Thankfully there was also a way for Sue to stay warm and enjoy some alone time on her weekend away.
The busy mum shared a clip on her Instagram of a round hot tub next to their motorhome, which was decorated with fairylights.
Sue could be heard chatting to her kids who were happily building snowmen and throwing snow in the air.
Sue, 49, and Noel, 54, are parents to Chris, 35, Sophie, 31, Chloe, 29, Jack, 27, Daniel, 25, Luke, 24, Millie, 23, Katie, 22, James, 21, Ellie, 19, Aimee, 18, Josh, 17, Max, 16, Tillie, 14, Oscar, 13, Casper, 12, Haillie, nine, Phoebe, eight, Archie, seven, Bonnie, six, and Heidi, four.
Sadly the couple’s 17th child Alfie was still born on July 6, 2014.
This comes as it has been reported Sue will take her entire family on a Disney extravaganza worth £52,000 for her 50th birthday in April.
Leaving the UK for the sunnier destination of Orlando, Florida, the mega ménage is planning an Easter trip to Disney World, according to an interview with The Daily Mirror.
Sue said: “We’re going to do a big 50th holiday with all the kids and grandkids to Disney. We’ll go in the Easter break.
“The kids love it and the grandkids do too.”
Sue and her husband Noel will be taking not only their own children, but all of their grandchildren with them too – making the most of the Easter break from school.
The huge holiday is going to kick off a big year of travel for the Radfords, who enjoyed 14 getaways last year alone.
Despite telling The Daily Mirror they have been “feeling the pinch” financially, they plan to spare no expense on this holiday of a lifetime – it’s a good job they have their own pie business.
Sue and Noel have spoken about their approach to holiday accommodation previously, while appearing on the This Morning show – they revealed they usually opt for a villa to save costs and ensure the bunch can bunk close together.
Last September, they shared an Orlando Villa Tour on their Facebook page to their 944,000 followers.
Their glam villa had its own pool, with Sue captioning the clip: “The kids love it!”
The villa was perfect for their Disney trip – with a Frozen themed room and pirate ship themed room for the kids.
This won’t be the only holiday to celebrate Sue turning 50 – in the same interview with The Daily Mirror, she said her and Noel will jet off for a romantic holiday for two.
“But we are going to do a holiday just the two of us as well. That will be nice,” she revealed.
How does family-of-22 the Radfords afford to live?
AS Britain’s biggest family, it may come as no surprise that Sue and Noel Radford must have some hefty bills.
Between them, they have a whopping 22 children and seven dogs, which often has some people wonder how they manage their money.
The Radfords support themselves with the proceeds of Noel’s bakery, The Radford Pie Company, which is located near their home.
On their website, it says: “We have owned our own lovely bakery since 1999 which is how we manage to provide for (and feed) our huge and expanding family as well as for the local people of Heysham and Morecambe.”
The family expanded their business to cater to online orders placed across the UK.
The business is a family affair, with Noel at the helm, and some of their children helping out.
The older kids, who are working at least part-time, don’t get a free ride as they’re made to pay a small amount of rent to their parents.
“Us older ones do pay a little bit of board. Granted it’s not a lot but I’m also trying to save up for my own house at the moment.” their daughter Chloe said in a video on the YouTube channel.
Sue added: “We’ve always said if you want to buy somewhere, renting is a bit of dead money, so we’d rather you saved that money up and stayed at home a bit longer.
“I also do believe they should pay board if they are earning. We’ve always been brought up by our parents that we had to pay board.”
Noel and Sue famously don’t rely on benefits for their bumper brood and live off their pie shop for income.
They also revealed they make money from brand partnerships on social media.
The Radford family stars in their own reality TV show 22 Kids and Counting – which has run for four series.
Brand expert Andy Barr believes Noel and Sue have been paid less than £10,000 for each show.
He told the Daily Mail: “The typical fee per episode is going to be in the thousands rather than the tens or hundreds of thousands that people often think is the case with TV shows of this nature.
“If they continue to get commissioned for a fourth or fifth season, then they are going to be able to command a higher fee.”
He estimates that the Radfords make £ 5,000 an episode.