£1.5m Lancashire mansion with its own resident giraffe

The elephant in the room at a quirky £1.5m Lancashire mansion dotted with statues of exotic animals is a giraffe poking its head up onto the first floor landing from the atrium, which is saying something when there is also literally an elephant in the lounge.
Granville Park WestGranville Park West
Granville Park West

Sure to tempt any travel-shy safari fans looking to restrict their expeditions to West Lancashire, the property nevertheless happily combines the elements of a trip to a zoo with decidedly more state-of-the-art features such as an integrated vacuum system, an attached double garage, and underfloor heating, striking an idiosyncratic middle ground somewhere between Tarzan and Tony Stark.

Spaceship-modern with a symmetrical design, white plastered facades, and more glass than a Specsavers, the Granville Park home boasts four bedrooms and over 5,000 square feet of floor space - those animals need space to roam, after all - and has already been reduced by £200,000 to peak the interest any fans of high-tech Jurassic Park-esque living.

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With an olive branch drooping from between its teeth over the banisters on the first floor landing, the main feature of the home is the integrated sound system... sorry, the 12-foot high giraffe in the entrance. Complete with a glass balustrade and floating staircase, the stratospheric atrium seems purpose-built to hoodwink the sure-to-be befuddled giraffe into believing he's surely not in an Ormskirk mansion.

From an inset fireplace in the living room to a home cinema system in the entertainment suite, the property provides any lucky owner with far more chance for relaxing than your conventional safari, while the open-plan kitchen comes ready-equipped with custom cabinetry and an array of high-end Gaggenau appliances, allowing any budding chefs to try their hand at cooking ostrich burgers or kangaroo steaks, depending on what they caught on the landing that morning.

Alas, no treehouse, but all three bedrooms on the first floor have dressing rooms and en-suites, while the master suite takes luxury to a new level with his-and-her dressing rooms and a spectacular fully-tiled six-piece ensuite featuring a sunken bath and, aptly, a rainforest shower, whilst also offering access on to the roof deck for when residents fancy spotting more mundane species like pigeons or their neighbours.