Day 20 - Driving round (and round and round and round and round) the bend

Travel day. This time we are moving from Swindon to Stroud, which is only about 25 minutes away by train. We needed to find a place for another four nights as we wait for paperwork to be finalized for our place in Moreton-in-Marsh.

So, as we leave Swindon, I want to draw your attention to something that will blow most Canadian drivers' minds. Are you ready for this...

Source: See How an Insane 7-Circle Roundabout Actually Works
CONDE NAST: WIRED

It's called the Swindon Magic Roundabout. And yes, it is one giant roundabout made up of five smaller ones. Here's what it looks like from the air, with traffic going through it...

Source: DICKBAUCH/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Boom! Your brain is a mess, isn't it? Just imagine having to tackle this on your driver's test! Our taxi driver, who took us from our hotel to the train station, made it through no problem. At least I guess he did; I had my eyes closed.

It astounds me to even think about what would happen if you plopped down one of these babies anywhere in the Toronto area. Although we have an increasing number of roundabouts appearing all over Ontario, there is one thing in common with all of them -- hardly anyone really knows how to use them. No one in Ontario signals their turn in or out of a roundabout. No one has the foggiest clue who has the right of way. Ontarians basically treat roundabouts as through streets that someone, for some godforsaken reason, has decided to plant a bunch of bushes in the middle of.

Here's a great site that explains how to use this roundabout if you're a tourist vs if you are a local. In Canada, we would just drive straight through the middle...unless we really had to turn left or right...but because it's a roundabout, as I said, we wouldn't signal. If there's a curve in the round, no need to signal that, right?!

In all fairness, this particular roundabout was voted by the British as one of the scariest in the country, and insurance companies hate it (even though everyone drives so slowly through it that the impact from any accident is generally low).

Can you imagine the town meeting where this was approved?

"Yes. You travel anti-clockwise through the series of roundabouts to your chosen exit."

"Won't that be confusing?"

"It might, but probably only to visitors. But if you're confused, you can just drive clockwise around the outside of it until you come to your exit."

"Well now, that seems more than fair. And beside, who visits Swindon?"

Will save telling you more about Stroud tomorrow as my head's still spinning from trying to figure how I made it through this alive.

Now you know why we take the train.