Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is

's second-largest town, with a population of 10,593. Stranraer is the administrative centre for the

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...

area of Dumfries and Galloway. It was formerly a ferry port, connecting Scotland with

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and Larne in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

; the service was transferred to nearby Cairnryan in 2011. It lies south-west of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, south-west of Ayr and west of

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

. The name comes from Scottish Gaelic, '' An t-Sròn Reamhar'', meaning "the broad headland" or "the fat nose".

History

The Battle of Loch Ryan was fought near Stranraer on 9/10 February 1307 during the Scottish Wars of Independence. King Robert I of Scotland's invasion of his ancestral lands in Annandale and Carrick began in 1307. The Annandale and Galloway invasion force was led by his brothers Alexander de Brus and

Thomas de Brus Sir Thomas de Brus (c. 1284, Carrick, Scotland, Carrick, Ayrshire – 17 February 1307) was a son of Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale and Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, Margaret, Countess Of Carrick and thus a younger brother of King Robert ...

, Malcolm McQuillan, Lord of Kintyre, an Irish sub-king and Sir Reginald de Crawford. The force consisted of 1,000 men and 18 galleys. They sailed into Loch Ryan and landed near Stranraer. The invasion force was quickly overwhelmed by local forces, led by Dungal MacDouall, who was a supporter of the Balliols, Comyns and King Edward I of England, and only two galleys escaped. All the leaders were captured. MacDouall summarily executed the Irish sub-king and Malcolm McQuillan, Lord of Kintyre. Alexander, Thomas and Reginald de Crawford were sent to Carlisle, England, where they were executed. The heads of McQuillan and two Irish chiefs were sent to King Edward I. On 12 November 1595, the ''Clashant of Stranrawer'' was named part of Ninian Adair's lands of Barony and, in 1596, was erected into a burgh of barony, the Barony of Kinhilt. This is recorded in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland. The partial translation into English is:

At Linlithgow, 12 November 1595, the King confirms and for faithful service again dedicates to Ninian Adair of Kinhilt, and the legitimate male heirs of his body, which failing his nearest legitimate male heirs whosoever bear the name and insignia of Adair various lands....In addition, the King creates the village at Clauchane de Stranraer as a free burgh of the barony with a free port, called the Burgh and Port of Stranraer; and the said Ninian etc shall have the authority to appoint a
bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...
, treasurer, Dean of Guild, magistrate, burgesses, officials etc; and the burgesses shall have the authority and leave to pack and unpack eaning the selling of bulk merchandise (wholesale trade) allowed by law only by free men in a free burgh to buy and sell lso allowed only in a free burghetc; ..and the said Ninian etc shall have authority to hold the position of governor of the said burgh, ..to hold weekly markets on Saturday, with free (untaxed) market days twice a year, viz Saint Barnabas' day the 11th of June, and at Peter's Imprisonment called
Lammas Lammas (from Old English ''hlāfmæsse'', "loaf-mass"), also known as Loaf Mass Day, is a Christian holiday celebrated in some English-speaking world, English-speaking countries on 1 August. The name originates from the word "loaf" in referenc ...
on the 1st of August, ..and the said Ninian etc shall have authority over all the port customs of the said burgh raised by sea or land among the land tenents of the said burgh and support of the said port; and the said Ninian etc shall have authority to receive resignations of lands of the said burgh etc .e. recover his lands from towns people who choose to sell them or give them up from those persons whatsoever who chose to dispose of them; the townspeople may meet three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

By 1600, Stranraer had become the market town for western

. Around this time, Stranraer was reached by a military road built from

to allow easier access to

Portpatrick Portpatrick is a village and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the historical county of Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is located on the west coast of the Rhins of Galloway. The parish is about in length and in br ...

for transportation of people to Ireland for the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...

. Stranraer became a

royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

in 1617. The first harbour in Stranraer was built in the mid-18th century, with further port development in the 1820s. The arrival of the railway from Dumfries in 1861 (closed 1965), giving the shortest journey to/from London, finally established Stranraer as the area's main port. In 1862, the line was extended to serve the harbour directly, and a link to Portpatrick was also opened. In 1877, a rail connection north to

Girvan Girvan (, "mouth of the River Girvan") is a burgh and harbour town in Carrick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Girvan is situated on the east coast of the Firth of Clyde, with a population of about 6,450. It lies south of Ayr, and north of St ...

and

was also established. Stranraer remained the main Scottish port for the Irish ferries for the next 150 years or so. On 31 January 1953, 133 people died when the '' Princess Victoria'' sank near Belfast Lough after its car deck was swamped by heavy seas. Stranraer and its surrounding area saw a significant amount of activity during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as it became a focus for anti-U-boat work. Flying boats operated from the area in an attempt to secure the waters of the North Channel and the south western coast of Scotland. Almost all of Britain's shipping imports passed through those two sea areas en route to the Clyde or the Mersey. Indeed, the flying boat '' Supermarine Stranraer'' is named after the town. Winston Churchill himself departed from Stranraer in a Boeing Flying Boat on the night of 25 June 1942, when making his second visit of the war to the United States. Churchill also spent time at nearby Knockinaam Lodge during the war years. Stranraer has an active local history trust, which publishes work on the area's history, commissioned from local authors.

Transport

Stranraer railway station is the southern terminus of a branch of the Glasgow South Western Line. ScotRail provides five services per day to Ayr, with one train extending to and another onto . Connections to the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

can be made at Glasgow Central or indirectly via ; Avanti West Coast

inter-city Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...

services reach London Euston and other destinations such as , and . The A77 runs north towards Ayr, Prestwick and

. The A75 runs east from Stranraer to Gretna, with links to the M6 going to

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

. The A75 is part of

European route E18 European route E18 runs between Craigavon, County Armagh, Craigavon in Northern Ireland and Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the ...

, but, like all European routes, it is not signposted as such in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Local bus transport in and around the town is provided predominantly by Stagecoach West Scotland, along with local companies including Wigtownshire Community Transport and McCulloch's Coaches. Scottish Citylink operates a service to

. In November 2011, Stena Line relocated its ferry services to a new port at Old House Point, north of Cairnryan, which is a few miles north of Stranraer. The existing port in Stranraer may be redeveloped with the departure of Stena Line; proposals to build a transport hub have been made.

Economy

The main industries in the area are the ferry port, with associated industries, tourism and, more traditionally, farming.

Redevelopment

The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

was partly financing "The Stranraer and Loch Ryan Waterfront Project" to regenerate the area. At an estimated cost of £1.29m, the Castle Square development was the first phase of the redevelopment of Stranraer town centre and significantly changed the flow of traffic, with Castle Street and George Street both being narrowed in a bid to be more pedestrian friendly. By January 2010, work on the streets around the town centre was complete, with the streets around the Castle of St John re-paved and re-profiled. The Castle Square was formally unveiled in March 2011 and has so far hosted a range of activities, including music and family events. Stranraer is currently undergoing redevelopment in the South Central Area (known as Dick's Hill, Ochtrelure and the southern part of Liddesdale Road area into the Gallow Hill).

Historic and notable buildings

The Castle of St John is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

tower house, built around 1500 by the Adairs of Kilhilt. It has been used as a home, a court, a prison, and a military garrison, the last during the Killing Time in the 1680s. The Old Town Hall, built in 1776, now houses the Stranraer Museum with its displays of Victorian Wigtownshire and the town's polar explorers, Sir John Ross and his nephew

James Clark Ross Sir James Clark Ross (15 April 1800 – 3 April 1862) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer of both the northern and southern polar regions. In the Arctic, he participated in two expeditions led by his uncle, Sir John Ross, John ...

. The town is also home to the North West Castle, built in 1820 and the first hotel in the world with its own indoor curling ice rink.

Tourist attractions

Other local tourist attractions include: * Ardwell Gardens – landscape gardens * Castle Kennedy Gardens – a garden between two lochs, noted for its rhododendrons, azaleas and

embothrium ''Embothrium'' is a genus of two to eight species (depending on taxonomic interpretation) in the plant family Proteaceae, native to southern South America, in Chile and adjacent western Argentina; the genus occurs as far south as Tierra del Fue ...

s in the grounds of Lochinch Castle, the seat of the

Earls of Stair Earl of Stair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the lawyer and statesman John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount of Stair. Dalrymple's father, James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair, Jam ...

. * Glenluce Abbey – a

12th century The 12th century is the period from 1101 to 1200 in accordance with the Julian calendar. In the history of European culture, this period is considered part of the High Middle Ages and overlaps with what is often called the Golden Age' of the ...

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery. * Glenwhan Gardens – a garden near Dunragit. * Logan Botanic Garden, near Port Logan village – one of the four sites of the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

. * Mull of Galloway – the most southerly point of Scotland, with a lighthouse, visitor centre and

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

bird reserve. *

– small fishing town * The Robert the Bruce Trail begins at Loch Ryan, near Stranraer. * Southern Upland Way – a coast-to-coast path between

and

Cockburnspath Cockburnspath ( ) is a village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It lies near the North Sea coast between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar. Cockburnspath is the eastern terminus of the Southern Upland Way as well as the northern terminus of ...

. * Whithorn – with its relics of St Ninian. * Wigtown – Scotland's national book town.

Education

The town of Stranraer has five

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s: Belmont, Park, Rephad, Sheuchan and St. Joseph's R.C., while villages in the local area usually have their own local school or nursery. The secondary school, Stranraer Academy, is a

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

consisting of one modern building (New Building Phase 2 completed in 2010). The school has around 1,200 pupils, 90 members of staff and serves the area of Stranraer, the Rhins, and parts of the Machars, Wigtownshire. Stranraer Academy has another seven associated primary schools from areas outwith Stranraer: Glenluce, Castle Kennedy, Drummore, Kirkcolm, Leswalt, Sandhead and

. The original Stranraer Academy was opened in 1845 on the site of the present Stranraer Campus of Dumfries and Galloway College. In 1965, a new Academy was built alongside a new High School and in 1970 the schools amalgamated. Dumfries and Galloway College has a campus in the town. In 1990, the John Niven Further Education College was built on Academy Street in the town; it has since been absorbed into the Dumfries and Galloway College.

Sport

The town is the home of Stranraer F.C., the local semi-professional football team who play at Stair Park. They currently play in

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foo ...

. The rugby team Wigtownshire RFC are based in the town, playing at London Road Playing Fields, opposite Stair Park and are currently in West League Division 2. Also at Stair Park are BMX and

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

ramps, and all-weather tennis and netball courts. The town also has a swimming pool (with flume), fitness suite, gymnasium and large sports hall at the council-run Ryan Centre, as well as other football fields, parks and all-weather multi-purpose pitches. Throughout the years, Stranraer has also been a centre of excellence for Scottish

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

. The town boasts the first hotel in the world with an indoor curling ice rink ( North West Castle), and was the birthplace of Hammy McMillan, a World Champion curler, and current resident. The town is host to a number of annual curling championships, including the Scottish Ladies Curling Championship and the World Juniors Curling Championship. In 2019, the Scottish Coastal Rowing world championships, Skiffieworld, was held at Stranraer between 7 and 13 July. Over 50 clubs raced St Ayles Skiffs during the week.

Public services

NHS Dumfries and Galloway provides healthcare services in the town. The Galloway Community Hospital opened in 2006; it replaced the town's Garrick and Dalrymple hospitals. GP services are based in the Waverly Medical Centre, adjacent to the new hospital. The town has several care homes for the elderly, the biggest being Thorneycroft on the edges of the town, run by the Park Homes UK company.

Districts

*Ailsa Gait *Ailsa View *Bishopburn *Ochtrelure *Sheuchan Parks / Liddesdale *Stair *Stranraer Town *West End

Outer districts

*Auchtrelure *Blackparks *Culhorn *Gallowhill *Inchparks *Innermessan *Sandmill *Soulseat

Media

Local newspaper the '' Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press'' is based and was previously printed in the town's St Andrews Street. The ''Galloway Gazette'' also covers the town and surrounding area. Local news and television programmes are provided by

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

and

ITV Border ITV Border, previously Border Television and commonly referred to as simply Border, is the Channel 3 service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the England/Scotland border region, covering most of Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway, th ...

. Television signals are received from the local relay transmitter. Stranraer’s local radio stations are

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish national radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 N ...

on 94.1 and Greatest Hits Radio Dumfries & Galloway broadcasts at 96.5 FM in the town.West Sound FM
/ref>

Notable people

* Vicki Adams, Olympic medalist in

* Richard Arkless, former MP * David Broadfoot, hero of the 1953 ''Princess Victoria'' sinking * Sir James Caird, agricultural writer and politician * Colin Calderwood, football player and manager * James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair, jurist and author of the Institutions of the Laws of Scotland * John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, sat as MP for the Burgh of Stranraer in the 1689 Convention Parliament * Craig Hamilton, rugby player * Thomas Hamilton, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* Ryan Hardie, footballer * Emma Harper, MSP * Leander Starr Jameson, leader of the Jameson Raid, a precursor of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, and Prime Minister of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

, and editor of the ''Wigtownshire Free Press'' * Robert William Jameson, author, editor of the ''Wigtownshire Free Press'', and father of Leander Starr Jameson * Allan Jenkins, footballer * Sir John Noble Kennedy, army officer, author and colonial governor * William King, writer of a number of science fiction and fantasy books most notably in Games Workshop's Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 series. * Keith Knox, footballer * Kevin Kyle, footballer * Allan Little, BBC foreign correspondent * John Livingstone, minister banished to Rotterdam * John Claudius Loudon, landscape gardener and horticultural writer, who laid out the grounds at Castle Kennedy in 1841 * Rory Loy, footballer * Robert McDouall, officer, Napoleonic Wars * William McFadzean, Baron McFadzean, industrialist and President of the Federation of British Industries * Hammy McMillan, World Curling Champion, 1999 * Shaun McSkimming, footballer * James Mavor, economist, economic historian and Professor of Political Economy and Constitutional History at the University of Toronto * Hugh Nibloe, Wheelchair Curler * Sir Robert Pringle, Director-General Army Veterinary Corps 1910-1917 * John Rennie, naval architect * Sir John Ross, polar explorer * David Speirs, Australian politician * Dame Leslie Strathie,

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

HM Revenue and Customs His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a department of the UK government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of stat ...

* Peter Wilson, World Junior Curling champion, 1981 * Vicky Wright, Olympic curler

Climate

Like most of the United Kingdom, Stranraer has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb''). The nearest weather station to Stranraer is located at RAF West Freugh, around 5 miles (8 km) to the south of Stranraer.

Gallery

Image:Panoramic view of Stranraer, Scotland.jpg, Panoramic view of Stranraer, as viewed from Gallowhill Image:Stranraer from NE.jpg, Stranraer and the shores of Loch Ryan, viewed from north-east end of town Image:Stranraer Close Up.JPG, Part of the Dick's Hill area taken from the Gallowhill area 2008 File:Stranraer Castle.jpg, Stranraer Castle (Castle of St John) Image:Johnniven.jpg, Dumfries and Galloway College's Stranraer Campus, 2008 File:Innermessan, near Stranraer - geograph.org.uk - 1302313.jpg, Innermessan, near Stranraer.