A roundabout featuring a family of four giant wooden hedgehogs has been awarded the prestigious title of “best in the UK”.
The Roundabout Appreciation Society (RAS) offered its top prize to the road feature in Truro, Cornwall, for its “quirky” collection of creatures named Cecile, Patricia, Denzil and Kizzy.
The society’s president and self-styled “Lord of the Rings” Kevin Beresford said the decision had not been easy.
“Our members had lots of arguments about who deserved top place,” he told the Standard.
“People love what we call “Titchmarshes” – green roundabouts with flowers and other plants – but it was Truro’s quirkiness that gave it the edge in the end.
“We liked how it gave a nice wildlife feel and celebrated hedgehogs, which are getting quite scarce.”
Mr Beresford first came up with the idea for the RAS in 2003, when he decided roundabouts would be a fun theme for an annual calendar.
Since then, he has sold more than 100,000 calendars, including one featuring the 12 best roundabouts in the world.
In 2014, he was picked to be in a book titled ‘Dull Men of Great Britain’, which included a man who sent the same Valentine’s card to his wife for 35 years, and another with a passion for drain covers.
This year’s roundabout shortlist will feature in the society's 2020 calendar.
Among the RAS’s favourites are the Black Cat Roundabout in Cambridgeshire, ‘Spitfire Island’ in Birmingham and, the Lord of the Ring’s own preference, ‘Duckingham Palace’.
"This one has an idyllic British composition that drives any genuine ‘roudabouty’ crazy," the RAS writes on its website. "Weeping willow tree – check, duck pond – check, chocolate-box cottages – check."
As the group puts in their blog page: “There’s nothing more exciting than a roundabout."
