This family who lives in a Welsh house right in the middle of a roundabout don’t want to leave, though they say it “does get busy at times.” About 64 years back, David John and Eirian Howatson moved into a little bungalow. Back then, there was no roundabout around it, but things changed as years went by.
Why this family refuses to sell their unique home on a roundabout
“Years later, the Howatsons still own the home on the roundabout,” and 64-year-old Clwyd Howatson talked about living there for most of his life. Despite the challenges of living in such a busy spot, the Howatsons have grown attached to their home and the memories they’ve built there over the years.
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How the roundabout became part of their lives
The bypass was finished, and then, later in the ’70s, plans were made for a roundabout. The family didn’t want to move, so they built it around their house. It was completed in 1980.
“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.”
The perks of living on a roundabout
“We don’t have to worry about any neighbours, but life on the roundabout does get busy at times, especially when the grandchildren stay over.” The roundabout looks so nice because there’s always people there taking care of it.
How they navigate the common question: ‘How do you get to your house?’
Of course, when you live on a roundabout, people ask a lot of questions about how it works. Clwyd said the first thing everybody always asks is, “How do you get to your house?” He said it’s “fairly self-explanatory with the drive at the bottom.”
Living with the noise — how bad is it, really?
“The second question is always, ‘Is it noisy?’ which it isn’t really,” Clwyd explained. “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 challenges of entering and exiting the roundabout
Getting off the roundabout, however, can be a bit tricky. When people are on a roundabout, they don’t expect someone to be coming out of it, so they do give a few double-takes.
“It can be a bit awkward if someone lets you go because someone might be coming up on the other lane, but we don’t really have any issues with it. We just wait until it’s quieter, which is most of the time.”
Delivering to the roundabout house isn’t as easy as it sounds
It’s also a bit tricky getting stuff delivered to the house, as many drivers have trouble realizing the place they need to go is actually on the roundabout, not that their GPS is acting up.
“If delivery drivers haven’t been round before, they can often end up going to other nearby houses before Clwyd tells them, ‘No, no, we’re not by the roundabout, we’re on it.'”
How dangerous is living on a roundabout?
Living on a roundabout can be a bit dangerous, with the risk of someone crashing into the house. But the family says they’ve been lucky to avoid anything serious. Back in the early days when the roundabout was first built, some drivers would actually go the wrong way around it.
What makes this roundabout different from others?
If you drive down the A525, you might notice that the roundabout by the Denbigh bypass looks more well-kept than most roundabouts in the UK. Let’s not start ranking roundabouts like we do with service stations — the best ones are always Tebay or Gloucester, right? But this one looks so neat because there are always people there looking after it.
The family’s plans and outlook on their unique situation
“As for what the future holds, the family was not planning on moving out and they reckon they’ll still have the place for the foreseeable.” Living on a roundabout is definitely not for everyone, but for the Howatsons, it’s home — and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
