Colchester Magic Roundabout (Greenstead): how to drive it
Treat each of the five minis as its own roundabout: give way to traffic from your right, take your exit, then do the same at the next. The roads between the minis are two-way, two lanes each way in reality, and you can go round the island either way. The simulator is built from Greenstead's real layout in Colchester.
Try it here, free
Greenstead's real layout from above. Pick where you join and where you leave, guess which way round is shorter, then watch the route one mini at a time.
Which way round is shorter?
Watch it, then drive it
- 1
Watch the official video
DVSA's short guide to the junction, roundabout and crossing skills the examiner looks for.
From the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on YouTube. Free to watch.
More videos on YouTube - 2
Drive it with the coach
Guided mode puts the reference points on screen and stops you the moment you drift.
Practise this in the simulator - 3
Test yourself
Test mode says nothing and marks you in the examiner's words. Three clean runs in a row and it is learnt.
Practise it on your phone
The real layout
Five minis round one island at the junction of the A133 and A134. Clockwise from the north-east the roads are Avon Way, Clingoe Hill, Elmstead Road, Greenstead Road and Saint Andrew's Avenue. The position of each mini and the bearing of every road were read from OpenStreetMap. Simplified on purpose: one lane each way everywhere.
Two-way, not two rings
Greenstead has no separate inner and outer ring and no islands between the minis, unlike Swindon. Every road between two minis carries traffic both ways. Whichever way round you go, the rule at each mini is the one you already know: traffic on your right goes first.
One mini at a time
From Elmstead Road to Saint Andrew's Avenue the short way is clockwise: Elmstead Road's mini, Greenstead Road's mini, then out. Three give ways; the other way is four. Signal for each mini on its own and cancel as you clear it.
Common faults
Freezing at the first mini because the rest look busy. Fix: only the traffic on your right at this mini matters. Carrying a signal over from the last mini. Fix: cancel it, then signal afresh. Drifting across the link road's two halves. Fix: keep left between minis, whichever way round you are going.
The traffic is the same every time
Fixed seed, fixed timestep. Repeat it until three give ways in a row feel like one.
Common questions
How do you drive the Colchester magic roundabout?
One mini at a time. Choose the way round with fewer minis, then at each mini give way to the right, signal for that mini's exit and go. Cancel the signal as you clear each island.
Is Colchester's magic roundabout on the driving test?
It can be: the Greenstead Roundabout joins the A133 and A134 on Colchester's east side, roads that local test routes use. Practise reading one mini at a time and it is an ordinary drive.
How is it different from Swindon's?
Swindon has five minis with a one-way inner ring and a one-way outer ring. Colchester also has five, but the roads between them are two-way and there are no small islands between the minis.
Is the simulator the real layout?
Yes, in position and direction: the five minis and the bearing of every road were read from OpenStreetMap. A sixth mini nearby serves a car park and is not part of the ring, so it is left out. Lanes are simplified to one each way.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
The rest of the set
- Magic roundaboutFive minis around a ring that runs the other way. Read them one at a time and it is just five give ways.Learn ›
- Hemel Hempstead magic roundaboutSix minis joined by two-way roads around one island. Every mini is its own give way.Learn ›
- Single-lane roundaboutFour arms, one lane round. Give way to the right, take the second exit.Learn ›
- Three-arm roundaboutThree arms in a T. From the side road the second exit is a right turn, so it needs a right signal.Learn ›
- Mini roundaboutPainted island, same priority rules, and you still have to go round it.Learn ›
- Double mini roundaboutTwo minis, one after the other. Each is its own give way. Read them one at a time.Learn ›
- Two-lane roundaboutTwo lanes round, spiral arrows on the road. Right lane and a right signal for the third exit.Learn ›
- Spiral roundaboutLane lines spiral round the roundabout itself. Pick your lane on the approach and the paint carries you to your exit.Learn ›
- Signal-controlled roundaboutLights on every arm. Green gets you to the line: you still give way to the roundabout.Learn ›
- City gyratorySix arms, two lanes, uneven spacing. One arm only joins and one only leaves. Count carefully.Learn ›
Also included: the manoeuvre simulator and the 3D drives of the routes around your own test centre.