The Story Of Hemel Hempstead's Magic Roundabout - It's NOT the magic roundabout, It's a lie.
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- Опубликовано: 14 май 2024
- #hertfordshire #magicroundabout #infrastructure #hemelhempstead
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Hemel Hempstead... lovely place, sort of. It's home to special roundabout that people call the magic roundabout but I'm sorry to say, this roundabout is not magical at all and in this video I shall explain why. We'll also look at what was there before this iconic piece of infrastructure and what lead to it's creation. 
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Back in the 70s, it was said that the roundabout solved traffic congestion because everybody would drive miles to avoid it!
My wife still does, she won't go near the Plough Roundabout.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I am like that with Swindon
@@gordonm2821Giving Swindon a wide berth is a good idea.
(Roundabouts are generally ignored by road designers in the States) so they still manage to sustain high levels of high speed collisions fatal accidents and injuries at all of their “traffic light controlled” major crossroads. - (very slow learners)…..
Always remember in the early 80s I'd just passed my test so driving parents back from Tring to Hertford
In our Vauxhall Viva 1159cc 0-60 about 3 weeks
South of Berkhampstead I had an impatient Lotus driver behind me
Finally he was able to pass me approaching the plough
But of course he went the clockwise way round and I went the shorter anticlockwise way
I beat him to our mutual exit point and as I was coming from the right he had to furiously give way
And to cap it all we had three heavy trucks to pass going up the A414 and my old viva only passed them slowly
I think by the time he finally was able to 're overtake me his blood pressure was off the scale
For that reason alone I have always been a fan of the plough roundabout
My parents had a gold Vauxhall Viva.
My dad was driving around the roundabout in a washed out lemon viva in the 80s as well. The back seats were crippling
@@RichardWatt I never knew they made gold ones. Most of them were steel.
Any1 remember the viva coupe?
@@Summers-lad Today sir, You WIN!!!
This is how this went for me:
Jon: Roundabout
Me: Drink!
Jon: Roundabout
Me: Drink!
Jon: Roundabout
Me: Drinkhh
Jon: Roundabout
Me: Drinkchhhhh
Jon: Roundabout Roundabout
Me: Drinkkkkhhh
Jon: Roundabout
Me: Hold on, did he say "roundabout" twice just then? I'd best havva dringggggggk
Jon: Roundabout
Me: Wait, I'm not ready!
Jon: Roundabout
Me: I've not filled me glass up!
Jon: Roundabout Roundabout
Me: Bugger thizzz, I'm drinchking from the bottle...
Jon: Roundabout
Me: Dringlugggg
Jon: Roundabout
Me: (glugs more)
Jon: Roundabout
Me: (sound of me and the bottle hitting the floor)
The wife: I think your dad might be dead, kids
@leopold7562 Ushh Leopoldzzz getz druunk togevverrrrr when he sayyz roundabooutzzz
Committed to the cause!👏
I ran out of drinkies 😐
😂😂😂
I’ve had a drink every time you said Roundabout. Fortunately it was water, but now my bladder is bursting!!! 😳
'Buncfield failed to wipe out' had me dead
Whole of our household slept right through the explosion despite being less than 10 miles away. Woke to see column of smoke
@@TheCaptScarlett you could smell it months later when passing on the M1 on a summers evening
@@highpath4776 Friends of ours had stored their caravan nearby. Were hoping it would have been incinerated and they could have a brand new one on the insurance. A two storey unit took all of the blast and all that was damaged in the caravan was some crockery
@@TheCaptScarlett I was, and still am, just over 20 miles away. I heard nothing, probably because my bedroom was on the wrong side of the building, but quite a few people this far away did hear it. There was a large black cloud taking up much of the sky to the west of us.
@@trickygoose2 my bedroom window faced straight at it. Woke up, went down stairs, boiled kettle, made tea, back to bedroom, gave wife hers, opened curtains
'Oh? What's that column of smoke'
Both girls under 5 slept through it as well.
Odd
I played the drinking game, but with coffee. I won't be sleeping this week 😵💫☢
I had to refill my water bottle.
So being my day off, and 12.30, I counted 43 "Roundabouts." 101 proof whiskey and a bong might not have been a good idea. It took me 36 mins to finish the video due to pouring and packing. On the lighter side, it only took me 7 mins to type this correctly afterwards. Love your videos. God bless spellcheck
Got that Wild Turkey have we?
@@angusevans0621 4 queens 101. Im a classy bitch lol
Legend.
🤣 brilliant!
Well, that's 43 shots. I may need medical attention. 🥃👀
The Hemel Hempstead not-magic roundabout makes perfect sense and works well. The Swindon one is just a shitstorm of confusing flat concrete, both when it was built and ever since.
Yeah the Hemel one is more just a series of mini-roundabouts just like any other, with each one pretty discreet from the previous and not an issue. The fact the inner roubdabout is so big means you just approach each mini without getting confused. The Swindon one can be truly confusing though.
As a driver, I like the Hemel one. I've only done the Swindon one as a passenger and I do find it daunting.
@@noggintube How is the Swindon one confusing?
Don't look at the large one in the middle, just concentrate on the smaller ones around it and take them one at a time giving way to the right
@@terminusaquo1980 yes I understand how the road system works. I'm talking about someone approaching it, especially for the first time. It's not something that is experienced by a lot of drivers (a lot never will) so can be confusing when first entering it all. In fact you've actually made my point - the Hemel one is easier not to see the big inner roundabout as I initially say, so you can approach each one simply as a mini. That's why the magic roundabout can catch people out because that inner roundabout is harder to ignore.
Thanks for the old pix Jon, used to live there!
Hemel Hempstead my home town and it's not that bad, as bad towns go. Most locals refer to it as the "magic roundabout" . In my opinion it works very well. There's hardly any accidents because traffic moves so slowly on it. I'm glad you visited us. 😀
Took a shot every time you said roundabout...
I've got bullet holes in my legs, back, chest and arse.
I may have misunderstood the game.
Oh well. Off to A&E..
Drink a pint of water and you'll look like a watering can!
Are you the Slovak prime minister?
@@AlexLR ... Ooo titter ye not ... 🫢
What in the Alabama were you thinking?
Ahh, my home town! Like all places, it has its good and bad parts, but is a pretty decent place to live - certainly not a dump! The Plough roundabout is extremely efficient and works very well; however I can understand why those unfamiliar with it would be nervous.
I lived there for 14 long years. The only good part of Hemel, and my personal favourite part, is the East-bound section of the A414 just past the Maylands/Leverstock Green roundabout. In other words, the road out of the shite hole.
Ok, it's not for you then. As I said, it has good and bad bits and maybe you're in a not so good bit. I can think of many towns that are worse. Hemel is in a good location though. Easy access to motorways, train, great countryside within a short distance. On the downside, the nightlife is poor. Town centre is dead at night . The area in the town I've ironically nicknamed the food quarter (by Spooners) is full of mad idiots.
Old town is lovely and the park isn't bad.
I actually don't think the town is a dump either. Some bad areas, some OK ones, but there are far worse places. In summer it's very green and there is a lot of attractive parkland. Plenty of interesting history if you know where to look, and it's a fairly pleasant place to cycle and walk, if you can get out of your cars for a change.
Take a shot every time i say roundabout.
Me, already drunk as it is:
Me: bejebus, I'm glad I don't drink anymore - I took it as take a shot everytime.
An American : lemmuh reload mah gun furst !
It works just fine and even during rush hour you rarely have to wait too long - long live our Hemel magic roundabout !!
I actually love this roundabout in rush hour, all the plunkers queue up to go the "short" way round to the a41 and i just zip past them all and go the other way around!
Absolutely. I’ve even gone part way round, realised there’s a numpty who doesn’t know how to drive and reversed my direction and gone the other way and still got off before they did. Love it.
I used to love this roundable when I was a kid. Both sets of grandparents, when still alive, lived on opposites sides of Hemel, and out of town trips to visit (80s until mid 90s) them always meant traversing said roundabout at least one, maybe twice a day.
Strangely enough, this roundabout came up in conversation with my kids the other day.
Thanks for the memories John.
I'm not sure roundabout is a real word anymore...
In the English world, where a monosyllabic has five of them, why not? : )
I'm too p*ssed to continue..😂
You've gotta do Colchester Olympic roundabout in Colchester!
Well designed, easy to use, seldom gets blocked, happy to use it every day 😀 👍🏻
i was at college in Treacle bumpstead (Hemel Hempstead) back in the late 70's, was referred to as either the magic or plough roundabout. did not know about the plough pub, but thought it was because a lot of articulated lorries used to miss the escape bay and plough over the roundabout and end up with the cab in the river. must have seen quite a few in the year i was at the college.
Also one thing to note as a 17 year old was "Scamps nightclub" had strippers on at lunch time, being under age at the time i must have been told about this. ;-)
On the two occasions I had the dubious pleasure of using the Plough Roundabout I definitely did not find it to be a ‘magical’ experience 🥴
Check out the A404/A40 "magic roundabout" in High Wycombe. 7 roads, 5 mini roundabouts. Crazy!
Is that what you all call that thing. When I "found" it (see my comment) I used another M word that is best described as George Carlin's alternate word for "Dad"...
To be fair, the do seem to have thought ahead and given it a fire station and a hospital on site.
You could also take a look at the Bonio Roundabout at Colney Heath.
Decided to follow the advice to have a sip every time "roundabout" was said. I had to pause this video half-way through to pop out to get my second bottle of absinthe. I now feel like a 1960s town planner.
Cheers John... thanks for reminding me of why I don't drive... ;)
"this dump of a town that Buncefield failed to wipe out" best opening ever!
Love the Buncefield quip - which woke me up at the crack of dawn when it happened. I thought the roof of the house had caved in - and that was in St Albans several miles away.
My dad was there when it first opened, he said nothing moved to start with because no one knew what they were supposed to be doing.
Top magic roundabout tip - if you are not turning immediately left, it's usually quicker to go the 'wrong' way. Anticlockwise tends to be quieter, because many people instinctively go clockwise like a normal roundabout. The longer queues to *join* the roundabout move much quicker when tuning right, because you have priority, whereas the queues *around* the roundabout, where you don't then have priority over joining traffic, are very short anyway. This is the secret of why it's such an efficient, self regulating traffic system, because drivers seeking out a faster route like this, by joining the quicker lane on approach, balance out any uneven traffic flows and keep everything moving. This was all explained to me years ago by a local taxi driver.
With the typical reaction to a simple roundabout here in the US and Canada, I can just imagine all the heads exploding on a continuing basis if one of _this_ sort of roundabout were installed somewhere on this continent! 🤣🤣
I passed my test in the early 90's, just before moving to St Albans, and often passed through The Plough Roundabout - it felt really weird going around the main roundabout the "wrong" way the first few times, but it works really well, and in rush hour, you often only have to go around say, a quarter of it, rather around the other three-quarters. There should be more of them, especially if the alternative roundabout upgrade plan is to add traffic lights...
Yay I recommended this roundabout months ago used it loads of times 😊
Just necked a Litre Bottle of Peroni in just over 3 mins at the designated "Roundabout" trigger word. Thanks John 🍺
Another brilliant video John, I counted **42** roundabout words throughout this video. Cheers! 🍺
You missed one. My count was 43.
This was the first magic (not magic) roundabout I ever tackled as a junior driver, luckily I only had to take the next exit so I avoided the roundabout way of getting around the roundabout. Apart from that, I have no other comment to make... great video by the way 👍
I didn't take a shot every time you said "roundabout", because I already feel drunk after the 11th time you said it. 😆
I will admit to a small brown trouser moment the first time I had to go round the Hemel magic roundabout. But once you wrap your head around it it works really well.
Have you seen the “magic” roundabout in Wycombe? Technically 7 roads join but only five have a mini roundabout on it and it’s sorta egg shaped. I think though, the longer shape makes it easier to understand how these roundabouts actually work, I guess your brain gets a little break to revive between mini rounds.
I used to fear using the Sadlers Farm Roundabout near Benfleet. It has sadly no longer a magic roundabout now (apparently it got bypassed to an extent) but it did make for an interesting journey trying to get from Chelmsford to the A13 and if I remember correctly it was incredibly busy.
The first time I went round Sadler's Farm I was 18 and in the slowest tractor of a convoy headed for Bower's Gifford (the marsh under the Canvey road, with the delightful Condom Tree along the lane). I could see the others half a mile ahead of me heading down the old A13, but didn't have a clue how they'd got round the roundabout to get there!
as an Australia and being a tourist in the UK last year I can say that the Plough roundabout did not confuse or instil fear in me, I found it quite easy to navigate, cheers, Garry from DownUnder
The wife and I accepted your challenge of a drinking game for the word roundabout and at 3:04 I've done 2 cans of Budweiser which is on the verge of leaving vis my nose and the wife has savage brain freeze.
11/10 video, would drinking game again 😂
2 mins in and I'm already shit faced. 😂🎉
Gonna end up in a&e if I took a shot for every time he says "roundabout " 😅😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤
Junctions seem to have a habit of being named after pubs.
A favourite of mine was Swan Corner at the junction of the A29 and A283.
Then somebody renamed the pub "The Parrot at Swan Corner".
Not sure that was a good idea. The pub has long since gone bust!
High Wycombe's Magic Roundabout next?
They clearly anticipated problems and has on site facilities to deal with the aftermath.
In Swindon there are quite a few roundabouts named after pubs that are closed, no longer trading, and several more named after firms that are no longer there - e.g. Honda, Renault, Motorola.
Drove around this many times when I lived in that, as you correctly called it, dump of a town. Luckily, I was a passenger the first few times I experienced it, and again you're correct saying you can easily spot the locals and tourists using it.
Jeez, if I'd had a shot each time you said Roundabout, I'd be totally hammered in less than three minutes
You reminded me why I turn off stop-start, often at the start of the start start. And now thanks to your drinking game I responsibly drunk like I was out. An Out Out kind of out, but just out.
Hi Jon nice to see the world famous magic roundabout in a video. All the best.
3:40 The resolution to that paradox is clear: This means that the country really has only 2 roundabouts worth voting on.
Always great music at the end. @AutoShenanigans: can you do an off-topic video on that?
Hi Jon, These roundabouts keep going in circles they make me giddy. Have a good one Take care
1 hour later ....... killin me bruh ....... killin me. Keep it up. Been a sub since like 5k maybe. Dig it. And after 43 cannonballs I can say I love your channel lol
Story time here. My Uncle Larry from America came over for a few weeks to stay here for filming and promotion of a new program he was in at the time. For some reason he wanted to go to the tank museum. But I had no idea that tank museum was in a similar sounding place called Bovington in a different county. The one in Hemel is one with a "d" not a "t". He had hired a Jaguar XJ6 so to him it was tiny car, but to us kids it was posh. However we somehow ended up in Hemel and the said Jaguar was involved in an altercation with a land crab whist trying to use the roundabout.
At the time I had no idea that the USA didn't have this type of roundabout. Somehow he did manage the Hanger Lane roundabout and the one at Hammersmith but not this one! This one is on a different level. To be fair, he was driving a unfamiliar car on the wrong side of the road as he put it wearing a ten gallon stetson on a two pint head! As for the land crab, that survived and scuttled off, the Jag didn't.
A few years later he came back by which time I was the proud owner of a brand new "P" reg Daewoo Espero (Cavalier in drag) so we "re-enacted" the journey for old times sake. He just came out with expletives . A few years later my daughter moved to Old Hemel and she had just passed her test and did manage the roundabout in a Citroen C4. So it can be done. Just take some Mogadon and enjoy....
Also a Peugeot driver’s worst nightmare… “Maniac!”
3:09 Glad to see you started speaking some sense before the end. Yes, bigger is better and magnitude matters much more than signs or chronology.
i loved that roundabout. But after i passed my driving test i went there at night to figure it out with no traffic!
Appreciate you finally getting to the best magic roundabout!
This has to be the best channel on RUclips, no question. How is that even possible? Roundabouts, FFS?
Lived in Hemel for a couple of years when the open markets were still going and the Who played at the town hall. Loved it with a passion.
I lived in HH from 1974 to 1976 lodging in Adeyfields and working on Mayland's Avenue driving an R reg Ford Cortina 2.0GL. As the Magic Roundabout was still quite new most drivers entered - turned left - and exited as if it was a normal set up. By always turning right to start with and driving what appeared to be against the flow one could circumnavigate the system far more quickly.
I think I've only been there once. I've a feeling there were less trees. Still, it was there and I had to do it.
So glad you started at the start where the start started...👍
I’ve just tried your little drinking game, and I’ve run out of drink 🤣
Fabulous 😍
I'm glad I live over the off-licence. Won't be driving tomorrow! People in our area don't know how to use a roundabout. Safe travels Jon.
I learned to drive in Hemel Hempstead and this roundabout was intimidating at first. I have loved the roundabout ever since I truly understood it, as it is quick and you can choose which way round you go, very useful!
You should come to Yorkshire Jon and visit Beverley’s traffic light monstrosity they installed a few years ago. Small market town once had a little roundabout now it’s 42 light multi exit mess. Made the papers when it was installed.
Yeah, it's total bollocks.
I used to Live In Hemel back in the day - It is also know as the 'Funny Round-about'!!! 😉🚂🚂🚂
Yeah, Hemel Town FC supporters chant that they’re from the town with the funny roundabout sometimes
Yes it is also known as the 'funny roundabout'. You beat me to it.
Surely the roundabout should be the Benzene or aromatic hydrocarbon roundabout as that's what it looked like to me
As a Stranglers fan I loved the outro music !
Categorically SicK of the Words Round & About. Now. Cheers John. 👍😁
Awesome Video
Fist as a part now.
Who remembers Butterflies?
Scared the crap out of a girlfriend a few years back. I knew the roundabout (living just up the road in Aylesbury). GF didn't.
Came down the hill from the M1, and turned right...
We were actually going to the A41, two exits left, but I went the wrong way just to spook her!
This isn't the reason we split up...
😂😂😂😂😂
This is the best video I've ever seen about anything
My day is now complete... thanks
🥃 I runout around 3 minutes in. And I think I'm seeing double😂 motorway johns drinking game Strikes Again 🤣👍
You can always spot an out of towner on the roundabout - they're the ones who've left plastic shards of their lamp lenses on the ground. I moved to Hemel in 1973, the same year the updated roundabout opened. The local paper, the Evening Echo, ran a feature on the day with an aerial shot showing traffic backed up for about 5 miles in every direction. You can probably still find that photo and article in their archives. Not sure where those archives would be however, I think the paper closed a long while ago now..
I'm asking a lot but my god I could watch an hour long video of yours haha.
One Saturday afternoon I once drive through that roundabout without stopping, and did the return journey without stopping too. That was pretty magic.
It's the only good memory I have of Hemel.
I really like it, one of Hemel's best features. Traffic can get intense but it's always flowing, you never find yourself at a complete standstill for long. It also slows traffic speeds down so it's pretty safe to use.
'One of Hemel's best features' LOL
outro music bangs
Did you keep track.of how many times you said Roundabout John. Another great informative video
I moved to Cambridgeahire in 1978 and still live there. Before that, I lived all my life in Barnet, Herts and in 1973, I was working as a sales representative covering Hertfordshire, including Hemel Hempstead. I well remember that roundabout opening and it was definitely known as the magic roundabout even back then. It worked really well, even in the morning and evening rush hours.
My first encounter with this Magic Roundabout was in 1977, helping friends relocate, driving a rental Luton van from Kent to Leighton Buzzard. Fair freaked me out, tbh. However, some years later, as an occasional alternative commute between work & home, found it kept traffic moving, for the most part.
I've never had an issue with the plough roundabout. It works and traffic flows even in rush hour.
Hi Jon.
It the chap that waved and said hi to you in the graffiti tunnel whilst you were filming the M27 episode of Secrets of the Motorway.
Just putting a content idea out there……. The Windhover Roundabout by Junction 8 of the M27. I live pretty much next to it and there is lots of history. Bursledon Towers (now tesco) the original road layout, the link to the M27 and now the roundabout is a complete traffic fuck up!!!! Lots of plans to change it that should have started but there are so so so many less expensive ways to sort the issue out. Don’t put traffic lights straight after the roundabout exits!!!
Anyway thought you might want to look at it. It’s a hell hole but also makes for good driving when its empty in the early hours.
i particuaerly luv te way they've got 14 roundabouts here... hic... 14 really, really, really lovely roundabouts, they;re really really lovely ,,, *thud*
Glad the video ended as I was about to pause it and go buy another bottle.
If I ever move to the UK, I'm going to need driving lessons for roundabouts like this one. Sad but true 😺
The videos on this channel are excellent.
Overhead drone shots make them look more confusing than they actually are
In Tallmadge, OH, there is the Tallmadge Circle. It has 8 roads coming in and out of it. Two reasons why it's not a big problem. It is truly a traffic circle and not a roundabout. It is approximately 560 feet (170m) west to east and 425 feet (130m) north to south. There is a small church and an old town hall in the middle. The other thing that help is that the traffic didn't used to be that bad and hasn't changed as much (rust belt). Even so, at rush hour there are some times where some of the directions backed up 1000 ft (300m).
I'm bookmarking this video for my next drinking game.
Love the music! GROOVY!!! 😎😎
the word roundabout was said so many times i feel like i have been listening to a song by Yes on repeat for the past two years.
I first encountered it in 1982/3 traveling to Colchester from Gloucester. I nearly came to a halt, I was that surprised. After my initial shock I found it really easy to negotiate.
I've driven round it many times when visiting the BT building adjacent to it. It's enormous fun at rush hour.
Fantastic . As ever 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I like this video so I’ve pressed the button specifically for that 👉🏻
I like your comment so I've pressed the button specifically for that
@@tubemob and I liked your comment so I've pressed the button specifically for that too
awesome video.
i managed to finish a 330ml can of southern comfort and lemonade watching this...
i was thinking a roundabout counter would also have been fun
As a Swindon resident, I can admit this 'magic roundabout' looks much nicer than ours