Stranraer
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| Town andsea port | |
 Stranraer looking west from the castle tower, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland | |
  Stranraer Location withinDumfries and Galloway | |
| Population | 10,110 (2022)[3] |
| OS grid reference | NX059606 |
| • Edinburgh | 102 mi (164 km) |
| • London | 310 mi (499 km) |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STRANRAER |
| Postcode district | DG9 |
| Dialling code | 01776 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 54°54′07″N5°01′37″W / 54.902°N 5.027°W /54.902; -5.027 | |
Stranraer (UK:/strænˈrɑːr/stran-RAR,[4]in Scotland also/strənˈ-/strən-;[citation needed]Scottish Gaelic:An t-Sròn Reamhar[ən̪ˠˌt̪ʰɾɔːnˈɾãũ.əɾ]), also known asThe Toon orThe Cleyhole,[5] is a town inDumfries and Galloway,Scotland, onLoch Ryan and the northern side of theisthmus joining theRhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer isDumfries and Galloway's second-largest town, with a population of 10,593.[6]
Stranraer is the administrative centre for theWigtownshire area of Dumfries and Galloway. It was formerly a ferry port, connecting Scotland withBelfast andLarne inNorthern Ireland; the service was transferred to nearbyCairnryan in 2011.[7] It lies 87 miles (140 km) south-west ofGlasgow, 52 miles (84 km) south-west ofAyr and 72 miles (116 km) west ofDumfries.
The name comes from Scottish Gaelic,An t-Sròn Reamhar, meaning "the broad headland" or "the fat nose".[8]
The Battle of Loch Ryan was fought near Stranraer on 9/10 February 1307 during theScottish Wars of Independence. KingRobert I of Scotland's invasion of his ancestral lands inAnnandale andCarrick began in 1307. The Annandale and Galloway invasion force was led by his brothersAlexander de Brus andThomas de Brus, Malcolm McQuillan, Lord of Kintyre, an Irish sub-king and SirReginald 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 byDungal 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, theClashant of Stranrawer was named part of Ninian Adair's lands of Barony[9] and, in 1596, was erected into aburgh of barony, the Barony of Kinhilt. This is recorded in the Register of theGreat Seal of Scotland.[10] The partial translation into English is:
AtLinlithgow, 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 abailiff, treasurer,Dean of Guild, magistrate,burgesses, officials etc; and the burgesses shall have the authority and leave to pack and unpack [meaning the selling of bulk merchandise (wholesale trade) allowed by law only by free men in a free burgh], to buy and sell [also allowed only in a free burgh] etc; [...] 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, vizSaint Barnabas' day the 11th of June, and at Peter's Imprisonment calledLammas 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 [i.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 westernWigtownshire. Around this time, Stranraer was reached by a military road built fromDumfries to allow easier access toPortpatrick for transportation of people to Ireland for thePlantation of Ulster. Stranraer became aroyal burgh 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 toGirvan andGlasgow 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 thePrincess Victoria sank nearBelfast Lough after its car deck was swamped by heavy seas.
Stranraer and its surrounding area saw a significant amount of activity during theSecond World War, as it became a focus for anti-U-boat work. Flying boats operated from the area in an attempt to secure the waters of theNorth 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 boatSupermarine 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.[11]
Stranraer railway station is the southern terminus of a branch of theGlasgow South Western Line.ScotRail provides five services per day toAyr, with one train extending toKilmarnock and another ontoGlasgow Central.[12]Connections to theWest Coast Main Line can be made at Glasgow Central or indirectly viaCarlisle;Avanti West Coastinter-city services reachLondon Euston and other destinations such asManchester Piccadilly,Crewe andBirmingham New Street.[13]
TheA77 runs north towardsAyr,Prestwick andGlasgow. TheA75 runs east from Stranraer toGretna, with links to theM6 going toCarlisle. The A75 is part ofEuropean route E18, but, like allEuropean routes, it is not signposted as such in theUnited Kingdom.
Local bus transport in and around the town is provided predominantly byStagecoach West Scotland, along with local companies including Wigtownshire Community Transport and McCulloch's Coaches.Scottish Citylink operates a service toGlasgow.[14]
In November 2011,Stena Line relocated its ferry services to a new port at Old House Point, north ofCairnryan, 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.[15]
The main industries in the area are the ferry port, with associated industries, tourism and, more traditionally, farming.
TheEuropean Union was partly financing "The Stranraer andLoch Ryan Waterfront Project" to regenerate the area.[16]
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.[17] 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).
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TheCastle of St John is amedievaltower 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 duringthe Killing Time in the 1680s. TheOld Town Hall, built in 1776,[18] now houses the Stranraer Museum with its displays ofVictorian Wigtownshire and the town's polar explorers,Sir John Ross and his nephewJames Clark Ross.[19] The town is also home to theNorth West Castle, built in 1820 and the first hotel in the world with its own indoor curling ice rink.[20][21]
Other local tourist attractions include:
The town of Stranraer has fiveprimary schools: 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 acomprehensive school 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 andPortpatrick. The originalStranraer Academy was opened in 1845 on the site of the present Stranraer Campus of Dumfries and Galloway College. In 1965, a new Academy (B Block) was built alongside a new High School (A Block) 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.
The town is the home ofStranraer F.C., the local semi-professional football team who play atStair Park. They currently play inScottish League Two.
The rugby teamWigtownshire RFC are based in the town, playing at London Road Playing Fields, opposite Stair Park[25] and are currently inWest League Division 2.
Also at Stair Park areBMX andskateboarding ramps,[26] 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,[27] 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 Scottishcurling. The town boasts the first hotel in the world with an indoor curling ice rink (North West Castle), and was the birthplace ofHammy 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.[28][29][30]
In 2019, the Scottish Coastal Rowing world championships, Skiffieworld, was held at Stranraer between 7 and 13 July. Over 50 clubs racedSt Ayles Skiffs during the week.[31]
NHS Dumfries and Galloway provides healthcare services in the town. TheGalloway 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.[32]
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.[33]
Local newspaper theStranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press is based and was previously printed in the town's St Andrews Street. TheGalloway Gazette also covers the town and surrounding area.[34]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC Scotland andITV Border. Television signals are received from the local relay transmitter.[35]
Stranraer’s local radio stations areBBC Radio Scotland on 94.1 andGreatest Hits Radio Dumfries & Galloway broadcasts at 96.5 FM in the town.[36]
Like most of the United Kingdom, Stranraer has anoceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb). The nearest weather station to Stranraer is located atRAF West Freugh, around 5 miles (8 km) to the south of Stranraer.
| Climate data for West Freugh (11 m asl, 1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) | 8.0 (46.4) | 9.5 (49.1) | 11.8 (53.2) | 14.8 (58.6) | 17.1 (62.8) | 18.5 (65.3) | 18.4 (65.1) | 16.6 (61.9) | 13.5 (56.3) | 10.3 (50.5) | 8.2 (46.8) | 12.9 (55.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.0 (41.0) | 5.1 (41.2) | 6.7 (44.1) | 8.0 (46.4) | 10.6 (51.1) | 13.2 (55.8) | 14.7 (58.5) | 14.7 (58.5) | 13.0 (55.4) | 10.2 (50.4) | 7.4 (45.3) | 5.4 (41.7) | 9.5 (49.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.3 (36.1) | 2.2 (36.0) | 2.8 (37.0) | 4.2 (39.6) | 6.4 (43.5) | 9.2 (48.6) | 10.9 (51.6) | 10.9 (51.6) | 9.4 (48.9) | 6.9 (44.4) | 4.4 (39.9) | 2.5 (36.5) | 6.0 (42.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 104.2 (4.10) | 84.1 (3.31) | 81.1 (3.19) | 65.5 (2.58) | 61.5 (2.42) | 70.3 (2.77) | 81.9 (3.22) | 87.7 (3.45) | 87.2 (3.43) | 130.7 (5.15) | 126.8 (4.99) | 120.0 (4.72) | 1,101 (43.33) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1 mm) | 15.9 | 13.5 | 13.3 | 12.1 | 10.9 | 11.3 | 12.4 | 13.5 | 12.5 | 16.0 | 17.3 | 16.1 | 164.8 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 56.9 | 80.2 | 115.2 | 169.9 | 226.0 | 185.5 | 189.1 | 186.0 | 139.9 | 101.1 | 61.1 | 53.6 | 1,564.5 |
| Source:Met Office[37] | |||||||||||||
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