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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Entertainment
Sean Murphy & Alexander Smail

Scots road where cars appear to roll uphill just an hour away from Glasgow

An incredible road just an hour from Glasgow is home to one of the UK's most intriguing optical illusions.

Dubbed the Electric Brae, the road is located in South Ayrshire and is renowned due to the fact that parked vehicles in neutral are apparently drawn uphill by a mysterious force

It's an incredible natural phenomenon that definitely needs to be seen to be believed.

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For many years, it was unknown what caused the odd occurrence, with some believing it was due to electric or magnetic attraction, hence the change of the name from Croy Brae to Electric Brae.

In reality, the Brae is in fact a gravity hill—a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces an optical illusion, reports the Daily Record.

The effect is caused by one end of the road being 17 feet higher causing a slight gradient, but due to the way the nearby landscape slopes, the gradient of the road appears to go in the opposite direction, which leads to the odd sight of cars rolling 'uphill'.

The illusion is so convincing that it has brought travellers far and wide over the years to see it for themselves. Among these was future US President Dwight D Eisenhower during the Second World War, at which time he was stationed at the nearby Culzean Castle.

The Electric Brae Cairn (Nicola/CCbySA3.0)

If you want to see the strange phenomenon for yourself, the stretch of road runs the quarter mile from the bend overlooking Croy Railway Viaduct in the west to the wooded Craigencroy Glen in the east.

The South Ayrshire Council has helpfully built a layby where travellers can stop and try it out for themselves.

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