One of Swindon's most famous landmarks will celebrate its 50th birthday this month.

The Magic Roundabout is an iconic part of Swindon's history and is often the subject of confusion for drivers visiting the town.

The junction, which consists of five mini-roundabouts in a circle, was built in 1972 and was voted the fourth scariest junction in Britain in 2009.

It has attracted global media attention, with TV shows and celebrities taking an interest.

The roundabout helped Swindon become twinned with Walt Disney World in 2009 because of its similarity to the iconic tea cup ride at the theme park.

And to celebrate the last 50 years, Swindon Borough Council has created a birthday playlist of 50 songs including 'Round and Round' by the Sugababes and 'Spinning Around' by Kylie Minogue.

A SBC spokesman said: "The roundabout has been used by millions of people and has gained notoriety across the globe.

"It fills some people with dread, some with peace, and some with downright confusion but that’s what makes it magic.

"While it may seem like a ridiculous piece of road infrastructure, Swindon wouldn’t be Swindon without its Magic Roundabout." 

The story of the Magic Roundabout began in 1810 when Fairholm house was built for the canal manager of the Wilts & Berks Canal.

The house made way for a simple roundabout called 'County Island' in the 1930s which joined Drove, County and Shrivenham roads.

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Traffic engineer Frank Blackmore redesigned the roundabout and it reopened in its current form in 1972. 

It was officially renamed the 'Magic Roundabout' in the 1980s and it even has its own line of merchandise.

Energy drink company Red Bull sent New Zealand driver Mike Whiddett to drift a rally car around the famous landmark in 2016.

At the time Whiddett said: "This is one of the craziest roundabouts I’ve ever discovered. This place is crazy, there are so many islands and obstacles.

"It's a real challenge to come flying into this roundabout as fast as we can, drift around it and then head straight back out the other side."

In 2018, the German equivalent of BBC’s Top Gear also came to to find out more about this mysterious and confusing English roundabout.

The Round-A-Bouts of Great Britain website said of the Swindon's landmark: "This roundabout’s magic has been baffling motorists for nearly half a century. Its five clockwise mini roundabouts feed into one central anti-clockwise ‘big daddy’ roundabout.

"Yes, maybe it doesn’t have that picture-postcard pretence of some of the other roundabouts on the list but it gets full-marks for originality and, well pure magic."