Bardills Roundabout —
Reading the Signs, Not a Formula

Where Bardills Roundabout Sits

Bardills roundabout is a multi-exit roundabout learners meet on the Chilwell driving test route, in the Stapleford and Bramcote area. It's a different junction from the double-roundabout section covered elsewhere on this site — Bardills is a single roundabout with several exits, closer in character to Bramcote Island roundabout than to a linked double roundabout.

This Roundabout Is Traffic-Light Controlled

Bardills roundabout has traffic lights on its approaches. This changes the usual priority rule: instead of simply giving way to traffic from your right, you follow the lights, and they take priority over the normal give-way rule whenever they're in operation.

In practice: approach Bardills watching the lights first, not the traffic to your right. If the lights are out of action for any reason, the normal priority-to-the-right rule applies as a fallback — but on a working approach, the lights are what control your entry.

Why There's No Fixed "Correct Lane"

It's tempting to want one simple rule — "left lane for this exit, right lane for that one" — but that's not a reliable way to approach any multi-exit roundabout, Bardills included. The correct lane depends on which exit you need and what the signs and road markings tell you on the day. The reliable method is the same one that works at every roundabout: read the signs in order, rather than relying on memory of what worked last time.

Read the Advance Direction Signs Early

Well before you reach the roundabout, look for the advance direction signs showing place names and route numbers for each exit. Start looking from around 100–150 metres out — waiting until you're at the roundabout itself is too late to choose your lane calmly.

Match the Lane Markings to Your Exit

Closer to the roundabout, lane arrows painted on the road and any lane-specific signs confirm which lane leads to which exit. Match these to your destination rather than simply following the car in front, which may be going somewhere different.

Keep Checking Inside the Roundabout

Reading the signs doesn't stop once you've entered. Continue checking lane markings and any signage inside the roundabout as you go round, so you're still confirming you're in the right lane for your exit right up until you take it.

Why Learners Get Caught Out Here

Because Bardills has multiple exits, what catches learners out is picking a lane based on the car ahead rather than the signs, or deciding too late and having to make a last-moment adjustment. On a driving test, changing lanes once you're already on the roundabout is treated as a serious fault, so the safest approach is always to decide before you enter, not after.

Instructor's tip: "Treat every roundabout, including Bardills, the same way — signs first, markings second, and a lane decision made before you arrive, not at the give-way line."

Bardills vs Bramcote Island Roundabout

Both Bardills and Bramcote Island roundabout are single, multi-exit roundabouts rather than linked double roundabouts, which is why the same sign-reading method applies to both. But each roundabout has its own sign layout and exit arrangement — don't assume the lane pattern that worked at one will carry over to the other. Read the signs fresh at each one.

How to Prepare

• Watch for advance direction signs from 100–150 metres before the roundabout
• Identify your exit first, then find the lane the signs and markings confirm for it
• Don't follow the car in front unless you know they're going the same way
• Practise this roundabout during lessons on the Chilwell route, not just in the final week before your test

H&E learners practise Bardills roundabout as part of Chilwell test route preparation. By test day, the sign-reading habit is automatic, so the lane decision is made calmly on approach rather than at the last moment.