Trail blazer
Sue Perkins journeys across the States while living out of a van
Comedian and former Bake Off host Sue Perkins says she’s “always dreamed of a life outdoors”. But will living and sleeping in a small van, making her morning cuppa with a gas canister and going to the toilet outside (“where am I going to wee… or worse than wee”) be more of a nightmare?
In her latest travelogue, Sue puts the spotlight on the community of people who have waved goodbye to brick homes and the nine-to-five life. Instead, they travel across America and live out of their vans.
Sue said: “I want to see if a Brit like me can hack it.”
She finds out by driving across Colorado and California, enjoying the beautiful landscapes and meeting people who have given up settled life.
In the first of two parts, she travels down the
SUE PERKINS’ BIG AMERICAN ROAD TRIP Sunday, Channel 4, 9pm
iconic Pacific Coast Highway to meet young couple Blix and Bess who had a two-bedroom home in Berkeley, California, then went on the road. For nine months, they have posted their experiences on social media. She then heads inland to the Yosemite National Park and meets Alexandria, a woman in her twenties who ditched most of her belongings seven years ago. Sue applauds how Alexandria is honest about how hard it is to live off grid. “It’s not always rainbows and butterflies,” she said, lugging water to her van. In the second episode, Sue hits Colorado, where she ends her journey at a festival dedicated to van lifers. Will she ever come back to Britain?
In America, more than a million people have got out of the rat race and embraced living in a van
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