A Welsh family has been living in the middle of a roundabout for over four decades, after refusing to leave as the circular road was built around them.
In 1960, when David John and Eirian Howatson moved into their bungalow in Denbighshire, Wales the area was just a regular neighborhood and things were pretty normal for about two decades, until authorities came knocking and let them know that their property was right where a new roundabout was to be built. The Howatsons refused to move away, so the roundabout was built around their home, and the family has been living there ever since.
“I’ve lived on the roundabout for over 40 years so it’s pretty much all I know. We’d lived here for 20 years before that as well so it’s been in the family for a long time,” Clwyd Howatson told NorthWalesLive. “We don’t have to worry about any neighbors, but life on the roundabout does get busy at times – especially when the grandchildren stay over.”
Clwyd says that most of the people who hear that he and his family live in the middle of a roundabout usually have two questions – how he gets to his house, which is easy to figure out considering the driveway leading in from the road, and is it noisy?
“I’d say it’s like living by any road but it’s not that bad, we have double glazing so it’s not something that bothers us and the road only gets really busy at peak times which is only a few times a day,” the man said.
Pulling into the center of the roundabout leaves many drivers scratching their heads as they drive alongside the Howatsons, as no one actually expects a motorist to exit in the middle of the roundabout, but so far they’ve had no accidents because of it.
Apparently, one of the biggest challenges of living in the middle of a roundabout is having packages delivered. Because the family shares the same postal code as the houses around them, it usually takes a while for delivery drivers to realize they are in the middle of the roundabout.
“Normally when we give instructions it’s fine, but I do end up saying: ‘No, no, we’re not by the roundabout – we’re on it’ and they always sound a bit dubious until they get here,” Clwyd Howatson said.
The roundabout house has been in the family for so long that the current occupants have no plans of moving anytime soon. Their home is quirky and unique, and they like it that way.
