British people must love roundabouts. I think it becomes clear for an outsider at the latest when you do some driving yourself in the UK. Sometimes it seems that the number of roundabouts in some smaller villages is greater than their population. (Although, the word is that half of world's roundabouts are located in France. However, I've driven only a bit in France, so Britain remains The Kingdom of Roundabouts for me, ok?) British roundabouts are typically your regular circular junctions with an island in the centre, but in many places there are also these mini roundabouts, a mere circle and arrows painted on the road. And then there's The Magic Roundabout.
The first time I was introduced to the Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England was probably in an email from a friend or work mate. It was one of those circular emails that often come with abbreviations like OMG or WTF. And sure, the first glance to a combination of big central island roundabout surrounded by five(!) mini roundabouts looks like something invented by a Marquis de Sade of Traffic Planning during a severe turn of delirium tremens.
The image never left my brains. Many years afterwards me and my wife got a wedding invitation to a certain Loughborough photographer. We booked flights to London and rented a car there. But we didn't take the straightest route to Loughborough, oh no. I still remembered this Britain's gift to the world traffic, so of course we had to take a considerable detour to Swindon. How did we make it? Watch the video:
The first time I was introduced to the Magic Roundabout in Swindon, England was probably in an email from a friend or work mate. It was one of those circular emails that often come with abbreviations like OMG or WTF. And sure, the first glance to a combination of big central island roundabout surrounded by five(!) mini roundabouts looks like something invented by a Marquis de Sade of Traffic Planning during a severe turn of delirium tremens. The image never left my brains. Many years afterwards me and my wife got a wedding invitation to a certain Loughborough photographer. We booked flights to London and rented a car there. But we didn't take the straightest route to Loughborough, oh no. I still remembered this Britain's gift to the world traffic, so of course we had to take a considerable detour to Swindon. How did we make it? Watch the video:
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