I live on the BIGGEST inhabited roundabout in Britain

RESIDENTS living on Britain’s BIGGEST inhabited roundabout say their friends think they’re crazy, 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 designated a Conservation Area.

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Nestled at the junction of the A31 and A325, the history-packed belt of roads is also home to a tea room, shed-showroom – and hamlet.

The cluster of historic cottages on Moor Park Lane follow a path that monks walked centuries ago on their way to Waverly Abbey.

Marianne, 39, from the area said she “loves” living on the unusual 10-acre property.

She said: “It’s a very nice, close-knit community and it’s not noisy. It’s really beautiful. We are like one big family.”

The mum, who has lived on the roundabout for six years, added: “We call it the magic roundabout.”

Across the street, neighbor Jo Scougall, 53, said when she first suggested her husband move to the roundabout some 16 years ago, he thought she was crazy.

Jo said: “I said to my husband we’ll look at this house, it’s on a roundabout next to a pub – but be frank,

“He just said, ‘No way — you’re kidding.’

“But as we walked around the house, his eyes were so big. There is just something magical here.”

But she admitted some people have a hard time believing she loves the place, adding, “Sometimes you tell people you live at the roundabout and they say ‘Really, at the roundabout,’ and you have to explain it for them it’s really calm and beautiful.”

Carl Atikinson, 42, who lives a few doors down from Jo with his partner Catherine Ginder and their four-year-old son, discovered his current home while drinking Shepherd and Flock at the nearby pub.

He said: “We sat on the benches across from each other in January eight years ago and just saw the sale sign and wondered how much it was.

It’s a very nice, close-knit community and it’s not noisy. It’s really beautiful. We are like one big family

Marianne

“It’s all been here since the 11th century, and this house predates the roundabout by 110 years.”

Mr and Mrs Smith, who have lived under the mighty roundabout for more than 30 years, said they wouldn’t change it for the world.

The couple, in their eighties, had reservations about moving in.

Mr Smith told The Sun: “The year we married, 1967, turned into a roundabout and traffic just doubled.”

Ms Smith added: “The only thing we were really concerned about, I don’t drive and he was so concerned about how I would get around, but luckily there’s a tube.

“So we’ve been living here for almost 40 years. We know pretty much everyone here.”

Mr Smith said they were having the “least lonely lockdown” because the close-knit community was clubbing together and even getting into shops for the two elderly residents.

They even started a Christmas carol group last Christmas.

MAGIC ROUNDABOUT

Carl, a hairstylist, said the cluster of houses felt “very special.”

The only problem local residents have is young racers and bikers using the roundabout as a route.

Shaz, who lives across the street from Moor Park Lane, said: “The drivers are terrible, it’s really bad driving here sometimes.

“It’s always this race for them and sometimes the tracks are a bit confusing.”

And Esmerelda, 32, and Odisea, 38, said noise can sometimes be a problem.

Esmerelda said, “It’s just a little noisy, mostly it’s okay.”

The drivers are terrible, you drive really bad here sometimes.

Shaz

Her husband Odisea added, “It’s actually noisy — people sometimes run around it at night.”

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s a bit like a race track, it would be nice to see someone with a flash gun every now and then.”

When the area was designated a nature reserve last year, Waverley Borough Council’s Cllr Andy MacLeod said: “The Shepherd and Flock Roundabout is a popular, unique and historically significant site, so I am delighted that it has been designated a nature reserve.

“Possibly the largest inhabited roundabout in the UK, it’s also steeped in local history, having been the scene of the almost entirely peaceful Battle of Moor Park in 1897, when some 500 angry townspeople rallied to claim their legal right of way to cross the various footpaths leading to it through the estate of Sir William Rose.

“The designation of Shepherd and Flock as a nature reserve will ensure that the roundabout is properly maintained and enhanced and protected for a long time to come.”

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