One of Swindon’s most famous landmarks doubles as arguably the most stressful roundabout experience that drivers can undergo in the UK – and it’s also been named as one of the worst in the whole world, especially for nervous drivers. Consisting of five mini-roundabouts for the price of one, the Magic Roundabout is in fact so tricky that it has been excluded from all driving test routes. But at the heart of the town centre, it also proves a difficult route to avoid for locals, commuters and unsuspecting tourists. But, just how troublesome is this national horror story for local residents?
In December 2007, BBC News reported another survey identifying The Magic Roundabout as one of the “10 Scariest Junctions in the United Kingdom. And in 2009, it was voted the fourth-scariest junction in Britain.
Meanwhile CarSupermarket.com finds that in the last 25-year period of the roundabout’s existence, it has been involved in 14 serious accidents and 100 minor incidents – a significant amount but perhaps less than one might think. Locals say that drivers are “more lenient” when people flout the rules on the roundabout, perhaps due to their shared confusion. While road rage is not a rarity in the area, they confirm, there seems to be a common courtesy of “letting each other off” on Swindon’s busy town centre roads.
Locals have taken to TripAdvisor to share their thoughts, reassuring visitors ahead of time, with one saying: “It’s just one of them local things we use day to day and don’t think about.”
That seemed to be be the general consensus, while another added that drivers simply need to follow on simple rule. They said: “It works well provided you always give way to the right. I go across it nearly every day and in busy periods it does substantially improve the traffic flow.”
It seems that the trickiest part to overcome when tackling this obstacle is going back to the basics of your very first driving lesson.
The Magic Roundabout is not, however, the only one of its kind. Both the Plough Roundabout in Hemel Hempstead, and Colchester’s Greenstead Roundabout are infamous for baffling drivers from out of town. Despite this, the less daunting appearance and two-way inner rings make for an easier journey than Swindon’s own.
Against the odds and initial concerns, the roundabout has become somewhat of a marvel for visitors. With Swindon Town Football Club’s stadium overlooking it, match goers and tourists alike have called for the area to be named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, while another claimed it’s “the best 32 seconds Swindon has to offer”.
It’s hard to tell whether, as an outsider, navigating the roundabout is as easy as locals say. So, why not take a day trip to the Designer Outlet or catch a Swindown Town FC football match, and find out for yourself?
Local resident Kerry E wrote on TripAdvisor: “It takes nerves, concentration and pure determination to conquer this amazing attraction – the best 32 seconds of fun you can have in Swindon.”
However, Tharind K from Sri Lanka was left completely baffled. She wrote: “It takes nerves, concentration and pure determination to conquer this amazing attraction.”
Ian Anderson, from Munich, Germany, chimed in: “If you are really lucky you may even see a learner driver navigating their way through it, or a oldie but goldie- A bus driver driving straight through with no care for other drivers.”