Visitors from the US to the UK who elect to drive tend to want to lock themselves into their hotel or B & B room after their first adventure on the roads. It is not that the drivers are nuts, which they aren’t, or even that driving on the opposite side of the road is a trauma. Rather, it is the unusual (by US standards) signage and infestation of traffic circles.
However, the visiting driver quickly realizes that the circles, or “roundabouts” are normal and the local drivers understand the basic principles of using them. Unlike, say, New York, where the same type of road structure is better called a “circle of death”, the UK setup is brilliant. Anyway, my point is that one should not fear the circle and get on the road to check out great stuff in the neighborhood.
A perfect example is the Newark Air Museum. Located about a half hour north-ish of Loughborough, and about the same distance from Nottingham, the museum is on an old WWII RAF base. There are more aircraft there than I can count, and they range from the spectacular Avro Vulcan B2 bomber you see here to the most amazing Shackleton four-engine propeller driven airplane. I spent more than two hours there wandering the base and examining the displays. In addition to the outdoor setups, there are several buildings of aircraft, most of which are beautifully restored.
Check out the Newark Air Museum’s Web site at www.newarkairmuseum.org. and if you are lucky enough to be in the Midlands, go there and be amazed.