The Magic Roundabout
Last week I started working in the nearby town of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swindon Swindon, where I
asked my colleagues about the local sights. The unanimous answer to
the best Swindon has to offer was “
The Magic Roundabout“.
It may be saying something negative about the town if its most
notable feature is a traffic junction, but the Magic Roundabout is
truly a wonder of the world. And by “wonder” I don’t mean “wow” I
mean “I wonder why they built such a stupidly complex
junction”.
You see, the Magic Roundabout is in fact 5 small roundabouts
surrounding one large centre roundabout. For the benefit of our
non-British visitors I shall do my very best to explain…
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In the U.K. we drive on the left hand side of the road, so on
approach to a roundabout you give way to traffic coming from the
right hand side. You then go clockwise around the roundabout,
exiting where you see fit.
The Magic Roundabout complicates matters in that the moment you
leave one roundabout you are at the junction of another. So, by
aiming right on each roundabout you would actually traverse the
central roundabout in an anti-clockwise manner. At
least that’s the idea.
The roundabout was officially renamed from “County Islands” in
the 90s because no-one used it official name, and roundabout fans
http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm Swindonweb
even sell “I survived The Magic Roundabout” T-shirts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon) Wikipedia
Thanks: Sfac, Russ, Jonathan Rawle, Arno Beckmann, Luke Sleeman,
Stephen, The Red Max, Hans, John DeRoo, AndrewAnorak and my
workmates.
Tags: , Magic, Roundabout, The
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