What are the UK’s best and worst roundabouts? Vote for your Roundabout Idol!

By Timothy Alcock / March 11, 2011 / Leasing News / 12 Comments


Central Contracts launch Roundabout Idol to find Britain’s best and worst roundabouts!

Do you have a roundabout you love to loathe? Or a roundabout that makes your life that little bit easier? Cast your votes to help decide which traffic islands in the UK are deserving of the Roundabout Idol titles for best and worst roundabouts!

Up and down the land, we are asking motorists to tell us what roundabout makes their head spin, their stomach churn and their tempers rise! Or alternatively, if there is a roundabout in your life that you’d like to express your thanks for, then you need Roundabout Idol!

Rather than making our journeys easier, certain roundabouts have been plaguing our commutes and have us risking both vehicle and sanity to reach the other side. Central Contracts want to weed out the worst offender when it comes to clogged up lanes, pointless signage, infuriating bottlenecks and poor traffic flow. We want to bring these circular demons of the road to justice by naming and shaming them for all to see!

We also want to pay tribute to our Leona Lewises, our Alexandra Burkes and our Matt Cardles of roundabouts – the stars of our streets! The paradise islands of the roads which make driving safer, swifter and sweeter for all involved.

Ultimately, we want to answer a timeless question that’s had us going in circles: what is the UK’s best and worst roundabout?

Tom Hemmingway has decided to get the ball rolling by nominating the BBC island in Nottingham, saying: “It does its job beautifully and without creating any bottlenecks. It deals with heavy traffic converging on Nottingham City Centre and must handle thousands of vehicles each day.”



Meanwhile, James Welch decided to nominate his local roundabout in Newcastle-under-Lyme. He says, “The Queen’s Gardens roundabout is plagued by constant beeping and motorists struggling to find the right lanes!”:

To vote for your best and worst roundabouts, send the folks at Central Contracts a picture of your nomination along with a brief description of your reasons to roundaboutidol@centralcontracts.com! Bad roundabouts should be as unsightly as they are useless and good roundabouts should be as pleasing on the eye as they are to drive around!


Related posts:

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  2. Carbon pollution list reveals Oxfordshire has worst emissions in the UK
  3. Traffic lights up by 30 per cent
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  • pete diet

    Culverhouse cross roundabout on the a48 west of Cardiff, permanent queues and plenty of traffic lights, a mess of writing on the roads in both english and welsh. A masterpiece in CO2 emissions.

  • Alan Martin

    I absolutely hate the roundabout near canary wharf with the huge traffic light signal ‘thing’. Definitely the worst in the country!

  • Stephen Roberts

    The Magic Roundabout at Hemel Hempstead must take some beating for one of the most confusing road layouts in the country:-

    http://bit.ly/fuNQva

  • Tim

    There’s no doubt about it… the Magic Roundabout in Swindon.

    http://www.swindonweb.com/index.asp?m=8&s=115&ss=289

    To whoever thought an inner round about, going in the opposite direction to what everyone is used to driving in, is not confusing…. “Drugs are bad, mmmmkay.”

  • http://FirstGardenCityHeritageMuseum Josh Tidy
  • http://tinyurl.com/4kmtjdh Annon

    Junction 7 of the M20. Fabulous roundabout which just guides you straight to your exit. I wish there were more like this one as its excellent.

  • Justin Crawley

    The Magic Roundabout Hemel Hempstead should win.
    As if the fact that it flows in two directions wasnt enough, we even have a river and a subway that run beneath it.
    Traffic always moves and congestion is eased by this masterpiece :)
    Go Hemel !

  • GaftheHorse

    I have to agree with Tim, (and not only because I’m a Tim as well), The Magic Roundabout in Swindon is an experience to be remembered. I made a special trip once when I happened to be in Swindon because I didn’t believe my colleagues who claimed it was the worst and most confusing roundabout ever. I was wrong, and they were right.

    It is similar to The Magic Roundabout in Hemel, (which I have also visited – I lead a very exciting life), albeit with 5 satellite roundabouts rather than 6, but I think the one if Hemel is slightly less scary as it has the big central area with plants, which at least gives you some boundaries. The Swindon version has minimal raised areas so is very open, and gives the impression that you are in a Demolition Derby arena.

  • Stuart

    I live in Nottingham and the London road is ‘alright’, it can get very clogged at rush hour.
    I actually learnt to drive around the Hemel Hempstead ‘Magic Roundabout’ and have to say, it takes some getting used to but once you do you’ll be putting tha yanks to shame!
    In the best interests of AV, my first vote goes to Hemel Hempstead and if I get a second it will be Nottingham, London Road.

  • Nick Iredale

    The photo of the Queen’s Gardens roundabout in Newcastle is very out of date – it’s much better than that now (see google street view)

  • http://www.chickenroundabout.co.uk/ A Larter

    I would like to vote for the chicken roundabout near Ditchingham in Norfolk. It’s on the A143 and the chickens pre-date the bypass! It’s a lovely roundabout.

  • Hemilish Hit

    Without doubt swindon’s magic roundabout has to take the crown. It has terrorised learner drivers for years and made men of many boys. Go swindon