‘Not moving from here’ says Sue Radford as she puts her feet up on another mini break weeks after their last getaway
BEING a mum of 22 is no holiday, so it will come as no surprise that Sue Radford needs to take a break every now and then on an actual holiday.
The mum of Britain’s biggest family has whisked her brood off on a weekend away in their motorhome where she was glad to put her feet up.
Taking to Instagram Sue, 49, shared a snap of her lounging outside the family’s luxury caravan.
“Got my sunlounger for the motorhome,” she wrote, adding, “Bliss, I’m not moving from here.”
She did get up eventually however, to pour herself a glass of chilled prosecco, sharing a snap of her relaxing evening later the same day.
“It’s so quiet,” she added.
“Heidie’s asleep, Bonnie is watching BFG and the rest are off playing football. It’s been such a lovely day.”
The weekend break marks her seventh holiday of the year so far and we’re not even seven months in.
Last month, Sue, 49, and her family, from Morecambe, Lancashire, were lucky enough to go on a trip in their campervan to Scotland, and they also went away to the Netherlands for a half term visit.
But now, they’re leaving their ‘millionaire mansion’ – their 10-bedroom former care home, which spans across four floors and even has a £27,000 swimming pool – for a sunny weekend away in their campervan.
The matriarch of Britain’s Biggest Family took to social media to share the news.
Posting on her Instagram stories, the star of the Channel 5 TV show 22 Kids & Counting shared a snap of the family’s campervan, which is said to be worth £40,000, and penned: “Looking forward to a weekend in the motorhome.”
Sue didn’t confirm where the family would be heading, but with the weather in the UK set to heat up this weekend, we’re sure they’re in for a treat.
This will be the third campervan trip this year for the Radfords – after they went on a UK mini break in February and then enjoyed time in Scotland in their home on wheels in May.
Back in December last year and into January this year, the family enjoyed a fabulous break to the happiest place on Earth – where they had ‘the best week in Disneyland’.
The family got to meet Disney characters like Mr and Mrs Incredible and enjoyed a breathtaking firework display at the iconic castle.
Following this, in February, they enjoyed their UK mini break for a few days whilst the kids were off school.
But not all of Sue’s followers were pleased, as one outraged fan wrote: “Really, what again! Most people with 1 child cannot afford any sort of holiday & yet you go abroad like 14 times a year & show off about it so much.”
In March, Sue and Noel, 53, took their little ones on an Easter bank holiday camping trip.
Hallie, 8, Phoebe, 7, Bonnie, 5, Heidie, 3 and Archie, 6, were seen on a family campsite, on an Easter egg hunt.
In April, they headed back to the States for a trip to Florida.
The family flew with Tui and even did a book signing 40,000 feet up in the air.
When they arrived in Disneyland, they of course enjoyed soaking up the sunshine and visited theme parks, but were slammed by fans for their ‘plastic’ family holiday.
If we can afford to take our kids to Florida, then we’ll take our kids to Florida
Sue Radford
Last month, the Radfords enjoyed two trips away – a first to Scotland and another to the Netherlands.
But seconds into the Scottish getaway, things seemed to go pear shaped, after Noel crashed the families’ posh motorhome after visiting family friends near Edinburgh.
Sue was left “fuming” with Noel for crashing into a tap port, as Noel added: “I caught the tap on the back end of the camper and scratched it all.”
But things seemed to brighten up when just weeks later, the family headed to the Netherlands for a half term break.
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.
There, Sue tucked into a glass of wine, whilst the youngsters rode around on bikes all day.
Sue and Noel, who first fell pregnant when Sue was 13, shared their experience with social media trolling in their page-turner, The Radfords: Making Life Count.
According to the couple – who’ve been married for over three decades – cruel trolls love to joke about the family, saying they ”go to Florida more times than I go to the shops’.”
Talking about the hate the family gets, Sue said: ”I think it just boils down to jealousy.
I’m not going to bother myself about what other people say
Sue Radford
“I have the mindset now – particularly since I lost my dad – that if you can afford to go on a holiday, then go.
”Life is definitely too short to say, ‘Oh, maybe I should squirrel my money away in the bank’ or whatever.
”Life is too short, so just do it.”
She continued: ”If we can afford to take our kids to Florida, then we’ll take our kids to Florida.
“I’m not going to bother myself about what other people say.”
Sue and Noel Radford's grandchildren
Daisy Mae: Born to Sophie, August 27, 2012
Ayprill Louise: Born to Sophie, October 13, 2014
Leo Thomas: Born to Sophie, December 24, 2015
Maisie Paige: Born to Chris, June 3, 2017
Jacob Colin: Born to Chris, July 31, 2019
Ophelia Jo: Born to Millie, September 10, 2020
Oaklyn Nicholas: Born to Chris, September 21, 2021
Chester Bleu: Born to Millie, February 20, 2022
Mila Eloise: Born to Chloe, July 23, 2022
Elodie Jade: Born to Millie, September 19, 2023
Noel, who runs a successful pie business, also chimed in, hitting back at the trolls.
In his eyes, the dad said, it’s like the family are ”not allowed to do things” unless they ”have permission from the internet trolls” – which is down to one reason.
He explained: ”And it’s as if people think we deserve to be kept in our place – that because we weren’t born into wealth, and because we are ordinary people from an ordinary town in the North West of England, we should just be happy going to Benidorm.”
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