Roundabouts

arran77

Following on from Akirasho's thread where we ended up with some planes on roundabouts it got me thinking, as well as this one near me



we also have this



there's this pub, plus a few houses and some allotments, apparently it's probably the largest inhabited roundabout in the UK!!

What have other people got near them

JackPozzi

Doesn't the M25 make the entire Greater London area the largest inhabited roundabout in the UK?

arran77

JackPozzi wrote:

Doesn't the M25 make the entire Greater London area the largest inhabited roundabout in the UK?

Everyone knows that the M25 is a carpark so that makes it the largest inhabited carpark in the UK :P

GiantMike

arran77 wrote:

What have other people got near them

Living in the UK, mostly litter.

AchillesLeftKnee

Dorking's got (assuming it's still there, anyway) a giant metal... erm... one of those things for visitors to marvel at.



Not to be outdone, Horsham went the female route...



(Yes, the above item does, indeed, squirt water)

Shoreham, sadly, took the whole thing a bit to far...

pinkteapot

Nothing interesting in the middle of it, but it doesn't matter because you're too busy being terrified to notice anyway going round this bad boy where I live:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=CO4+3X ... ngdom&z=19

pinkteapot

We do have this in the middle of another sort-of-roundabout:

http://www.camulos.com/virtual/boadicea2.jpg

AchillesLeftKnee

pinkteapot wrote:

Nothing interesting in the middle of it, but it doesn't matter because you're too busy being terrified to notice anyway going round this bad boy where I live:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=CO4+3X ... ngdom&z=19

Urgh. That looks more like population control than traffic control!

arran77

AchillesLeftKnee wrote:

Not to be outdone, Horsham went the female route...



(Yes, the above item does, indeed, squirt water)

That I'd like to see

pinkteapot

AchillesLeftKnee wrote:

pinkteapot wrote:

Nothing interesting in the middle of it, but it doesn't matter because you're too busy being terrified to notice anyway going round this bad boy where I live:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=CO4+3X ... ngdom&z=19

Urgh. That looks more like population control than traffic control!

It's a magic roundabout. Only two in the country, in Colchester and Swindon. Somebody in the sixties thought "I know, see this point where five roads meet? Instead of having a roundabout, let's have a roundabout of roundabouts, that'll be better."

That's not quite accurate as the overall loop isn't a roundabout so you can go round it whichever way you like. The trick is, when driving, to leave each mini roundabout going straight into the lane you need at the next one, as they're so close together it's nigh on impossible to change lanes. You can always spot the confused tourist during rush hour.

Cleat Eastwood

pinkteapot wrote:

Nothing interesting in the middle of it, but it doesn't matter because you're too busy being terrified to notice anyway going round this bad boy where I live:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=CO4+3X ... ngdom&z=19

:shock:

Thats like one of those diagrams boffins use to explain the inner workings of the atom

pinkteapot

Fortunately you'll notice there are cycle paths round most of the outside so no need to cycle it. I do see some brave souls cycle round it in rush hour, as using the cycle paths means you also have to use bike/pedestrian crossings and the lights take ages to change.

kingofthetailwind

We have this in Belfast:



Which would be quite nice if it wasn't on such an ugly roundabout, in such an ugly part of the city. It does have a good nickname though - the balls on The Falls.

drlodge

pinkteapot wrote:

It's a magic roundabout. Only two in the country, in Colchester and Swindon.

I'm pretty sure there's a 6 roundabout "roundabout" in Hemel Hempstead.

[edit] there is:

pinkteapot

Oops, yep, six magic roundabouts in the country apparently. The Heathrow one sounds terrifying!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roun ... _Hempstead)#Other_similar_roundabouts

Wunnunda

arran77 wrote:

AchillesLeftKnee wrote:

Not to be outdone, Horsham went the female route...



(Yes, the above item does, indeed, squirt water)

That I'd like to see

I know it well. It's not actually working in that picture - it was being maintained behind the fencing- but when it does operate water is pumped into the 'ball' whch gradually (~5 mins IIRC) sinks down a central column. When it reaches the bottom the water drops out the bottom of the 'ball' in a long 'slooosh' allowing the the 'ball' to rise quickly to the top of the column. Then the whole thing starts again.

Oh - and it's not on a roundabout it's in the centre of a pedestrianised shopping area. It is utterly bonkers and (IMO) quite wonderful, though I can say that as I'm no longer a Horsham council tax payer! It is slightly wasted in that location given that it's overlooked by a Wilko's store, a Travelodge hotel, a Wetherspoons pub and a McDonalds 'restaurant'

Giraffoto

pinkteapot wrote:

Oops, yep, six magic roundabouts in the country apparently. The Heathrow one sounds terrifying!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roun ... _Hempstead)#Other_similar_roundabouts

Magic roundabouts aren't that bad - you just have to remember that
(1) They're not magic and
(2) They're not roundabouts

Hemel's one may be the only one with a river flowing through it. They're relatively easy to ride through because everyone's going so slowly

Wunnunda

Yes, negotiating 'magic roundabouts' reminds me a bit of drivng round the Arc de Triomph : it's a terrifying-looking, multi-lane free-for-all but actually is usually OK because everyone is fully switched on and concentrating on what they are doing.

drlodge

Wunnunda wrote:

Yes, negotiating 'magic roundabouts' reminds me a bit of drivng round the Arc de Triomph : it's a terrifying-looking, multi-lane free-for-all but actually is usually OK because everyone is fully switched on and concentrating on what they are doing.

Or rather thinking "where the f**k do I go now"

thomthom

Wh.. why don't they.. I mean.. why wouldn't they just make a completely normal roundabout instead of that.. thing? I got my license not that long ago and I'd just start laughing out of acceptance that'd die within the next seconds before entering that. Or, I'd just go round and round and round and round in one of the smaller roundabouts inside the roundabout.. (!!) until I would be out of gas.