The Five Minute Spare Guide to Stranraer
The old Dumfries and Galloway port town on the west coast of Scotland.
We all know and love Stanraer for being the port town where we catch the ferry to Belfast. To this day, the ferry terminal at Stranraer is one of the busiest in the country. However, it is also traditionally seen as a place you pass through, rather than a place you holiday in. We are here to try and change that.
Here’s the Five Minutes Spare tour of Stranraer – as told by a Scot. We’ll talk history, fun facts, and top attractions in Stranraer, too. Let’s start with the early days.
Early History of Stranraer
Before there was ever a town here, these were clan lands. On the 9th and 10th of February in 1307, the two sides fought the Battle of Loch Ryan on the edge of the loch. This fight took place during the Scottish Wars of Independence when the Bruce was trying to return north. His two brothers led the army, accompanied by a Crawford – the famous lowlanders from the Crawford Moors – and the Laird of Kintyre Malcolm McQuillan. Stranraer is situated on the inland end of a great sea loch, and the Bruce led his ships into it. Unfortunately, the defenders overwhelmed them, an amalgamation of Edward I’s men led by a MacDuall. Some were executed, but the Bruce’s and the Crawford were sent south to be executed in Carlisle.
Like many a Scottish town, the port at Stranraer started life as clan land. Stranraer is way down there in the south, so the lowland clans would have intermingled here. The Kennedys constructed Castle Kennedy in the 1400s. This coincides with the clan history for the Kennedys. This clan came from Ireland in the 1200s to settle along the Dalradian Strip – that’s the strip of Hebridean islands off the west coast. The Kennedys settled the Ayrshire coastline, becoming the Earls of Carrick. The Carrick Hills which marked their lands lie south of Ayr itself. The Kennedys were at Flodden Field. They would later build another castle in the Firth of Clyde known as Culzean Castle.
Back to the town.
By the 1500s we have another clan building towers in the area. The Adairs built the Castle of St. John as a home, court, and military garrison for the Clan Adair. This clan descend from a man named Thomas Edzear, who gained the land in Kildonan from King Robert I. Their motto is “Loyal unto Death”. They owned a castle at Portpatrick, too, and legend holds they may have come from Ireland. The king also gave the Adairs the barony of Clashant of Stanrawer.
Back to the town.
The landowner turned the town into a burgh of barony in 1596. A burgh of barony was a fake burgh, really. It was a burgh-ship granted by a landowner, instead of granted by royal charter. The town was already substantial by this time. It would be growing up around the castle, where people would flock to for protection. It had already been landed by at least one Irish clan, as long ago as in the 1200s. It might not officially have been a port town yet, but it was busy enough for travellers that stopped here to see potential and stay.
Stranraer became a functioning royal burgh in 1617. It became official. Around this time Stranraer was the main market town of the area. Unfortunately, post 1610 the town experienced substantial amounts of growth. This was because of James I’s plantation of Ulster. Stranraer became the main port that he sent troops over with. The plantation became in the 1610s and went on, and on, and on. We could ask if it ever really stopped. This was a typical British Empire tactic of beating the ‘enemy’ with war and then settling their lands with wealthy Brits who could exploit the local population for whatever the natives and locals grew there. They took the land off the locals and awarded it to British aristocrats for ‘colonisation’. We should all feel at least a little disgusted by that.
Let’s stop in this merry moment to talk about something cheerier. We found some fun facts about Stranraer just for you.
Fun Facts about Stranraer
Whenever we review a new town or city, we must fill you in on all the good gossip. This includes the best fun facts about each place as we hear it from the locals. Here’s all you need to know about Stranraer, fun trivia wise:
- The Stranraer ferry link to Northern Ireland switched out to the north of town back in 2011, about six miles away.
- Stranraer, known to the rest of Scotland as a grey, ominous place, has a beach to the east of town. It’s even a sand beach.
- It is Dumfries and Galloway’s second-largest town.
- Stranraer FC was the last senior club in Scotland to get floodlights. They played in the dark for about a hundred years.
- We derive the name of the town from Scot’s Gaelic, which would be An t-Sron Reamhar. This means ‘the fat nose’. It’s thought to be a reference to the way the land lies.
Let’s return to the history and find out what happened when the town took off in the 1700s.
Industrial Era Stanraer
The town got its first town hall in 1776. This building stood where the Stranraer Museum now stands. In 1811, the population of the town was 1,923. It doesn’t seem like a lot but let’s put it into perspective. There are more people living in London right this moment than there are people living in Scotland. In the 1800s a population of 2k people was akin to city status.
The Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press newspaper started running in 1844 and a year later the Stranraer Academy opened. The first-ever full ferry service started in 1861 and this service became a daily one in 1862. The daily ferry service didn’t take off back then, but modern travellers love it. In 1861 the railway arrived in town. Stranraer is far from about everything in Scotland. If you ever take the train from there north, you will notice you go through miles upon miles upon miles of open fields and countryside. It’s pretty, but it’s bleak on an overcast day. Without the railway, it was isolated from the north and the south. Back then, that first railway line only ran to Dumfries in the south, but it changed the lives of everyone in town. The Portpatrick railway opened a station at the port the following year.
It was the opening of the railways that made Stranraer to London faster and saw the growth of the town. The railway line north didn’t come until 1877.
In 1870, the Stranraer Football Club was formed. They play at Stair Park now. Again., it took the stadium a long time to get floodlights. In 1878 the town built the Harbour Railway Station. By the 1881 census, the population stood at 3,455, so you can see how big the impact of the railway arriving had. One of the biggest employers in town first arrived in 1899. They started as a modern creamery and developed into the Caledonian Cheese Company.
The 1900s Onwards
During the two great wars, Stranraer was an important tactical location. Since it was a large port and farthest from the continent, it could act as a semi-safe port to resupply the country. In the Second World War, it was the main port used to tackle the U-boats in counteroffensives. The Stranraer war memorial commemorates 157 names in the First World War, and 222 names in the Second World War.
In 1942 Winston Churchill flew from Stranraer in a flying Boeing boat to the USA. By 1951 the Stranraer population was 8,618.
In 1953 Princess Victoria sank near Belfast Lough, killing 135 people in a tragic accident. She operated between Larne and Stranraer and was one of the first ships you could drive onto and off from. Built in 1947, Princess Victoria held 1,500 passengers plus cargo. The ship left Stranraer at 7.45 am and travelled with 128 passengers and 51 crewmen. The craft had a problem with spray breaking over the stern doors and was fitted with an extra door to stop this, but it was not lowered. After the mouth of the Loch, the ship ran into a storm and high seas. The stern doors were blasted to bits by bigger waves and water started leaking into the car doors. What happened next was a series of mechanical failures that led to the ship listing to one side. The captain tried to right it and found he was blown dangerously close to the headland. He then fixed a course for Northern Ireland so that he could ride away from the worst of the storm. They made several transmissions, but rescue aircraft were busy with other disasters in the same sea that day. An army vessel went to help them, but their engines became overcome with salt. A second vessel went to help but they were beaten back by the waves. In the end, merchant’s vessels sheltered the ship’s passengers in lifeboats they were unable to bring in a real coastguard boat, and finally, save the remaining crew and passengers.
In the 70s, P&O moved their services out to Stranraer and that’s how it became the SeaCat service’s home. Stena moved their main operations to Cairnryan in 20011.
In 1998 the Local History Trust was formed. By 2004, the population of Stranraer was 10,600 people. The Galloway Community Hospital opened in 2006, bringing more work to the area[i].
Modern-day Stranraer has a brightened town centre designed to add some colour and life to a bleak place. It’s grey down there on their strand of exposed coastline. There are beaches and fields, and not that much else. It’s an extraordinary place on a hot, clear day. Stranraer in the rain is how most people remember it, and that’s a shame for a place so steeped in history. One thing that didn’t change was the number of Adair’s and Kennedys that live there. To this day, the place is full of them. Let’s not forget that Dumfries and Galloway have some beautiful rolling hills and wonderful countryside. It’s also a favourite among gold panners, should you like to get outdoors.
Let’s move on to some famous people to come from Stranraer, then talk about the best things to see and do there.
Famous Faces from Stranraer
There haven’t been so many famous people to come from Stranraer. Here are the few that we could scoop up, just for you.
- Vicki Adams, an Olympic gold medal winner in Curling, the sport Scotland is best at. The island shaped like a big boob across the sea from Stranraer is the Ailsa Craig. This is where they made the curling stones.
- Allan Little, a foreign affairs correspondent at the BBC.
- Several footballers, including Colin Calderwood, Ryan Hardie, Alan Jenkins, Keith Knox and Kevin Kyle.
- Robert MacDuall, an officer in the Napoleonic wars.
- Sir John Ross who first explored the poles.
- Sir John Noble Kennedy, who was a colonial governor.
There has been a surprisingly large array of famous people from this town, especially once you realise that the population is a little over 10k. Let’s clear up the best things to see and do here next, since that’s the bit we all came for.
Attractions in Stanraer
Wondering if Stanraer makes a great staycation destination? Before you rush off and book a trip to Stranraer, here’s all you need to know about what there is to see and do there.
Historic Sites and Landmarks
You can’t come through here without stopping at the castle. The castle of St John’s stands in the centre of town. You can’t miss it. The Adairs built it in the 1500s supposedly as a home. They used it as a sort of outpost to imprison debtors and criminals. It was more like a garrison than a home for the family. It is remarkably well preserved today. It has its own gift shop and there is public parking nearby.
Historic Environment Scotland preserves a church just outside of town. This church is a marker of the oldest Christian memorial stones in all of Scotland. They date to 500 AD, putting Christians in Scotland in the 5th century. There is eight stones total, and they are named the Kirkmadrine Early Christian Stones. The stones appear to be hand-carved and stand testament to the importance of early Christianity.
Of course, you can’t come to Stranraer and bypass the harbour. On a sunny day, it stretches endlessly off into the stunning surroundings. On a miserable day, you get skelped by the wind and rain. The harbour shelters many fishing boats, since there is still a large fishing population in town. Fish have fed the people here for generations, despite the sea being rough.
Galleries and Museums
The Stranraer Museum is a speciality museum that gives accurate documentation of the history of the town. The museum is in the former townhouse which they built in 1776. It is known as Wigtownshire’s best record of events. They have artefacts from past eras you can peruse and will give a better overview of the history than we ever could.
Take a trip to the Stoneykirk Aviation Museum to learn about the often-overlooked history of commercial flights. They have a collection of rebuilt cockpits from various planes, including the beloved spitfire. If you have toured the war museums of the UK, this is one you may have overlooked. Do check before you go because the covid restrictions have been playing havoc with their space.
Outdoor Attractions
The Castle Kennedy Gardens are beautiful in the summer months. This area is part of a silent space initiative, which asks you to turn off mobile phones and keep it quiet every Wednesday for people with special needs. The gardens are massive. They sport lochs and woodland, beautiful flower beds, meadows and more. There are holiday cottages for rent here should you be looking for somewhere to stay.
The RSPB has a bird sanctuary nearby. You will find RSPB sanctuaries dotted all over Scotland, but the southern reaches are home to some spectacular species. This is a wetland site that is bordered by cliffs. The clifftop reserve features a habitat for local species and works as a migratory point for passing species. There is a small gannet colony and panoramic views. On a good day, you can see the Isle of Man and Cumbria.
You can visit the Dunskey Castle estate, but you may only use their gardens, including a maze if you are a resident staying with them. Try not to go on estates in Scotland without permission, they are the only ones who still have guns.
Sports and Recreation
Stranraer has its own football club, established in 1870. Stranraer FC plays at Stair Park, where they boast a full set of floodlights.
Stranraer has its own golf club too since golf is Scotland’s original favourite sport. You will also find a golf club at Portpatrick, Wigtownshire, and Lagganmore, all within 30 miles or so.
Stranraer falls under the Wigtownshire RFC catchment area so you can play rugby if you want to.
If you are in town with the kids and looking for something to do, visit Agnew Park. There is a miniature railway here, some wooden pirate ships, a play island, a café, a go-kart area and even a boating lake. This is the kind of park you come to in summer and jammed full. They have a putting green, too. It really does have something to keep everyone in the family busy for a full day.
Shopping and Retail
Stranraer is not known for shopping. In fact, it does have some good places. There’s a Peacocks and an M & Co, so that is a good sign. You will find most of the good shopping in the centre of town, rather than in shopping malls. Traditional Scottish towns don’t always have shopping precincts, the shops are just sort of evolving with the times.
Other Notable Attractions
If you are visiting the south of Scotland for any length of time, you might run out of things to do in Stranraer. Here are some of the other sights you should try to see and do in the area if you are staying for a little longer:
- There is a convention centre just outside of town which focuses on golf. Execs can hide away here for a few days at a ‘convention’ at the Green Valley Golf Academy.
- There are loads of nightlife in Stranraer. There is a pub named after the football club, the Commercial, and many other bars.
- Take a drive to the Kilantringan Lighthouse out towards Portpatrick.
- Or go north on the peninsula to the Corsewall lighthouse – it’s a rocky shore.
- Take the trip southeast to the Glenwhan Gardens Tea Room for a nice high tea.
The Scots pure love a scone.
How to get to Stranraer
Last of all, you will need to know how to get to this lovely town before you rush to pack. We don’t give very good directions, but if you head in roughly these directions you might see a signpost.
By Road
There’s only one road in and out of Stranraer and that’s the A75. This is rumoured to be one of the most haunted roads in Scotland, so beware!
By Rail
You are heading for Stranraer Station.
By Air
The nearest airport is Prestwick but you will have limited flights. Fun fact about Prestwick airport: Elvis Presley passed through here. Obviously not recently.
By Sea
Aim for Stranraer Harbour and Marina.
Got Five Minutes?
If you are feeling generous and you enjoyed this fun guide to one of Dumfries and Galloway’s best-kept secrets, then you may want to show us some love. Find us on Facebook or browse the other guides on our site.
[i] https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/stranraer/stranraer/index.html
