England's king of roundabouts - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

When some people think of a roundabout they remember the scene from the movie "European Vacation" where Clark Griswold is stuck going around a London street saying "Hey look kids, there's Big Ben. Parliament!"

For Brits, roundabouts are as common as a good pub or restaurants that serve fish and chips. In all of England, there is no bigger fan of roundabouts than Kevin Beresford, president of the 29-member UK Roundabout Appreciation Society.

"Anything can go on a roundabout. You can put fountains, statues, trains, boats, planes, anything goes on a roundabout. They lift our spirits on tiresome journeys. To me, they're like an oasis on a sea of asphalt," said Beresford who takes photographs of roundabouts and publishes them in a "Best of British Roundabouts" calendar.

"I work for a printing company and we wanted to come up with a calendar that was totally original. I was fed up with David Beckham and six pack firemen. We wanted to come up with a calendar that was totally unique. The town that I come from is Redditch, which is not famous for its roundabout, but that's all we've got is roundabouts. We thought we'd come up with a calendar of roundabouts. What we didn't realize is how popular it would become and it sold literally worldwide," said Beresford. "A lot of people from India, New Zealand, America all started sending me these pictures of roundabouts. I suppose that's why I became intrigued by them."

Beresford will travel all over England to drive around roundabouts including one that circles the IMAX Cinema on the Charlie Chaplin Walk in London.

"This is the epitome of what you can put on a roundabout A cinema. A 3D cinema. This is exceptional for me," said Beresford.

During our two week trip to England, we covered 1,400 miles and drove around hundreds of roundabouts.

"You'll see these on your travels, a painted mini island, we call them PMT's. We have double ringers, brick ringers, and we have red ringers," said Beresford.

England's ultimate roundabout may be located 80 miles west of London in the city of Swindon.

"I think they call it the magic roundabout because at the time when it was built in the 60's, there was a very popular children's program called 'The Magic Roundabout' with a very distinctive musical tune that sounded like the carousel. I think they just thought it would be a good name and it is," said Beresford.

The Magic Roundabout combines one "mother bout" with five "orbital bouts" spinning traffic in different directions.

"It's the white knuckle ride of all roundabouts," said Beresford. "Our society, UK Appreciation Society, come on daytrips here, to experience the white knuckle ride. I call it the maelstrom of motordom. It's like going in the eye of a hurricane," said Beresford. "Upon approaching the Magic Roundabout, you have to compose yourself. It's a pretty scary roundabout. Compose yourself and look and see which is the clearest exit that you've got and then cross your fingers and go for it," said Beresford. "It's not the most aesthetically pleasing roundabout. It's quite an eyesore really. But, it's the thrills of it. That's what we go for," said Beresford.

It can be so confusing, even locals occasionally get mixed up describing the flow of traffic to guests.

"The roundabout is made up of one large roundabout that goes around an anti-clockwise direction and then five other roundabouts, smaller roundabouts those roundabouts go in an anti-clockwise direction. Oh, that's wrong. I have to start that one again. It's a tough one to think of isn't it," laughed Swindon Firefighter Terry Crawford.

"The idea is as you feed into the roundabout, you're going into a small roundabout, you go in the wrong direction around the large roundabout, then as you come off, you're on another small roundabout," said Crawford. "It's chaotic, busy. Cars going in at every direction," said Crawford. "Every now and again you'll look out the window and someone will just say 'what is that idiot doing' and you'll see a car going in the wrong direction or just circling around completely lost," said Crawford.  

But despite the confusion, Swindon residents say the Magic Roundabout has a record of safety.

"People don't have many accidents," said Crawford.

A mistake in the Magic Roundabout could send the driver into one of several different directions.

"One option is to go to our main town center," said Crawford. "Another option feeds the north side of Swindon. Another option is going onto the motor way, freeway. And then you have another option going down into the old part of Swindon. If you get it wrong, you could end up anywhere. I've seen people go around a few times trying to figure out which exit they need to go. It can be confusing if you don't pay attention to the road markings. A lot of people go the wrong way and you're quite lucky you don't have more accidents," said Crawford who recalls what it was like to drive on the Magic Roundabout as a young driver.

"I learned on this roundabout and it's terrifying because you're not quite sure where to go and there are a lot of cars trying to go in a lot of directions," said Crawford. "As soon as your instructor tells you that you'll be going onto the Magic Roundabout, it's quite terrifying because you know what it is. You don't really have any idea how to go around it. So, it's a very nerve-wracking moment. It's quite a relief when you come out the other side," said Crawford.

"It's a chaotic ballet really. It's congested. But, that's the whole point of this roundabout. That's what's magic about it. It just works," said Beresford. "Fasten your seatbelts. You're in for a bumpy ride. It's an adrenaline rush of a roundabout."

Beresford says Brits embrace roundabouts and laugh that some Americans would prefer traffic signals.

"You're on the steering wheel tapping your fingers waiting for those blinking lights to change. Come on, the traffic's just flowing. Aren't Americans impatient? This is one of the most congested cities in the world. And look, the traffic's flowing around," laughed Beresford. "They're functional. Look at the way this traffic is moving. Not one piece of this traffic is standing still. It's moving."

Beresford says the roundabout was actually invented in New York City in 1903 by an American and wonders why the United States never fully embraced the traffic concept.

"I can't believe Americans are fearful of this fantastic invention and it was you guys who invented it. It never took off in America. You had the chance to carry the ball and run with it. But, you dropped the ball and, it was the French of all people, the French took that ball and carried it forward, much to your disgrace, to your discredit. But, the English only picked the ball up in 2006. It was the British who coined the phrase roundabout. Before then, it was the one way gyratory," said Beresford.

The Brits not only picked up the ball, they also put roundabouts all over the country with everything on them.

"They're the most expressive thing on any road network anywhere in the world," said Beresford. "I've seen churches, pubs, houses, fountains, trains, boats, airplanes, you name it, it can go on a roundabout," said Beresford. "I'm sure if Andy Warhol was alive today, we'd have a giant can of Campbell's Soup on a roundabout," said Beresford. "Americans call it a traffic circle. I like traffic island. Robert Lewis Stevenson said 'there's no place on earth that exerts so much attractive power as an island' and, now I reckon he was talking about traffic islands.

So, when you come to England and face a roundabout, keep your eyes on the road and hang on.