I live on Britain’s BIGGEST inhabited roundabout – people think I’m mad but I love it and I’ll never move
RESIDENTS living on Britain’s BIGGEST inhabited roundabout say their pals think they’re mad but they love it so much they call it the “Magic Roundabout”.
The Shepherd and Flock roundabout in Farnham, Surrey, is so big it even has a pub and has been declared a conservation area.
Nestled on the intersection between the A31 and A325 and steeped in history, the belt of roads is also home to a tearoom, a shed showroom – and a hamlet.
The gaggle of historic cottages on Moor Park Lane sit on a path worn by monks centuries ago on their way to Waverly Abbey.
Local Marianne, 39, said she “loves” living on the unusual 10-acre plot.
She said: “It’s a very nice, tight-knit community and it’s not noisy. It’s lovely, actually. We’re like a massive family.”
The mum, who has lived on the roundabout for six years, added: “We call it the magic roundabout.”
Just across the lane, neighbour Jo Scougall, 53, said when she first suggested moving to the roundabout to her husband some 16-years ago, he thought she she was mad.
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Jo said: “I said to my husband we’re going to see this house, it’s on a roundabout next to a pub – but keep an open mind,
“He just said ‘There’s no way – you’re kidding.’
“But as we walked round the house his eyes were so wide. There’s just something magical about it here.”
But she admitted that some people do find it hard to believe she loves the location, adding: “Sometimes you’ll tell people that you live on the roundabout and they’re like ‘Really, on the roundabout,’ and you have to explain to them, it’s really quiet and lovely.”
Carl Atikinson, 42, who lives a few doors up from Jo with his partner, Catherine Ginder, and their son four-year-old son, spotted his now-home while drinking at the nearby pub, the Shepherd and Flock.
He said: “We were sat on the benches opposite in January, eight years ago and we just saw the for sale sign and wondered how much it was.
It’s a very nice, tight-knit community and it’s not noisy. It’s lovely, actually. We’re like a massive family
Marianne
“This has all been here since the 11th Century, and this house pre-dates the roundabout by 110 years”
Mr and Mrs Smith, who have lived beneath the mighty roundabout for more than 30 years, said they wouldn’t change it for the world.
The couple, in their eighties, had their reservations before moving in.
Mr Smith told The Sun: “The year we got married, 1967, this turned into a roundabout and the traffic just doubled.”
Mrs Smith added: “The only thing we really worried about, I don’t drive and he was so worried about how I would get about, but luckily there is a subway.
“So we’ve lived here for nearly 40 years. We know pretty much everyone here.”
Mr Smith said they had the “least lonely lockdown” because the close-knit community clubbed together, even popping to the shops for the two elderly residents.
They even formed a carolling group last Christmas.
MAGIC ROUNDABOUT
Carl, a hairdresser, said the cluster of homes feels “quite special”.
The only issue any of the residents have is boy racers and bikers who use the roundabout as a track.
Shaz, who lives opposite Moor Park Lane, said: “The drivers are horrible, you get really bad driving on here sometimes.
“It’s always this race for them, and sometimes the lanes are a bit confusing.”
And Esmerelda, 32, and Odisea, 38, said that sometimes noise can be a problem.
Esmerelda said: “It’s just a little bit noisy, mostly it’s okay.”
The drivers are horrible, you get really bad driving on here sometimes.
Shaz
Her husband Odisea added: “It’s noisy actually – at night sometimes people race around it.”
Another resident, who didn’t want to be named, said: “It’s a bit of a race track, it would be nice to see someone with a speed gun every now and again.”
Last year, when the area was declared a conservation area, Cllr Andy MacLeod, from Waverley Borough Council, said: “The Shepherd and Flock Roundabout is a well-loved, unique and historically significant site, so I’m thrilled that it has been designated as a conservation area.
“Possibly the largest inhabited roundabout in the UK, it is also packed with local history, being the site of the almost entirely peaceful Battle of Moor Park in 1897, when around 500 angry townsfolk assembled to demand their legal right of way to pass over the various footpaths leading through the estate of Sir William Rose.
“The designation of Shepherd and Flock as a conservation area will ensure that the roundabout is properly maintained and will be enhanced and protected long into the future.”