The Electric Brae is a gravity hill

Gravity hill

A gravity hill, also known as a magnetic hill , is a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces the optical illusion that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope...

 in Ayrshire

Ayrshire

Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 where cars appear to be drawn uphill by some mysterious attraction. The Lowland Scots

Scots language

Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...

 word brae means a hill-slope or brow (with which it is cognate), and the "electric" name was given when electricity was a new technology associated with strange forces.

There is more than one stretch of road known as Electric Brae, but the most famous is on the A719, south of Dunure

Dunure

Dunure is a small village in the South Ayrshire area of Scotland. Located on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, Dunure is near to Maybole.-The villages:...

, not far from Ayr

Ayr

Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...

, between Drumshrang and Knoweside. Though the road appears to be running uphill, a suitably free-running vehicle will slowly move off from a standstill. It was widely believed that vehicles were being propelled uphill by a mysterious magnetic force, but the road's apparently uphill slope is an optical illusion. Metal road signs which used to mark the place have tended to be taken by visitors, and have been replaced by a stone which is inscribed with an explanation:

"The ELECTRIC BRAE", known locally as 'CROY BRAE'.

This runs the quarter mile from the bend overlooking Croy railway viaduct in the west (286 feet Above Ordnance Datum) to the wooded Craigencroy Glen (303 feet A.O.D.) to the east.

Whilst there is this slope of 1 in 86 upwards from the bend to the Glen, the configuration of the land on either side of the road provides an optical illusion making it look as if the slope is going the other way.

Therefore, a stationary car on the road with the brakes off will appear to move slowly uphill.

The term 'Electric' dates from a time when it was incorrectly thought to be a phenomenon caused by electric or magnetic attraction within the Brae.

During the Second World War, the brae was visited by many American personnel from the air-base at Prestwick

Prestwick

Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire on the south-west coast of Scotland, about south-west of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr, the centre of which is about south...

, and General Dwight D Eisenhower who had a flat nearby at Culzean Castle

Culzean Castle

Culzean Castle is a castle near Maybole, Carrick, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland...

 brought visitors to see the phenomenon. In 1992, the name was brought wider fame by the novel Electric Brae

Electric Brae (novel)

Electric Brae: A Modern Romance was the first novel by Scottish writer Andrew Greig. The title is a reference to Electric Brae in Ayrshire, where a natural optical illusion makes it seem that things can roll uphill.-Plot summary:...

by Andrew Greig

Andrew Greig

Andrew Greig is a Scottish writer. He grew up in Anstruther, Fife. He studied philosophy at the University of Edinburgh and is a former Glasgow University Writing Fellow and Scottish Arts Council Scottish/Canadian Exchange Fellow...

. The name has also been applied to other slopes in Scotland: for example, on the Struie Road in Easter Ross, about ten miles (15 km) from Ardgay. This feature has also been observed elsewhere in the world, for example outside the Garda station in Blackrock in Dublin, Ireland.

Viewing

The most effective way to experience the illusion is to be travelling from south to north, with the sea on your left. A car set gently rolling, apparently uphill, will continue to roll. Footballs also seem to roll uphill.

Care needs to be taken when viewing this phenomenon since vehicles travelling south have restricted visibility.