Stranraer is a town in Dumfries and Galloway near the tip of southwest Scotland. It's a ferry port, connecting Scotland with Northern Ireland, though nowadays all ferries run from Cairnryan a few miles north. The town itself (population 10,320 in 2016) has little of interest, but it's a good base for exploring the scenic Rhins of Galloway, the peninsula stretching north and south of Stranraer. The north and central part of the Rhins are described here.
An alternative visitor base 17 miles south is the village of Drummore: see that page for the south Rhins, which include Logan gardens and fishpond, and the Mull of Galloway.
The North Channel between Scotland and Ireland narrows here into the Straits of Moyle, 22 miles / 35 km across. It's deep: the Beaufort Dyke goes down to 300 m / 1000 ft, carved out by glaciers and swept clear of in-fill by the currents. Shipping traditionally plied between little ports such as Donaghadee in Ulster and Portpatrick on Galloway. The channel is pinched to 12 miles further north off the Mull of Kiltyre, but that is a long way from anywhere else, and St Columba sailed across that way to put distance between himself and his Ulster enemies.
The small ports lacked shelter, and from the 19th century vessels grew larger, so a Victorian port developed at Stranraer as it did at Belfast. The railway from Glasgow created a fast link from central Scotland. Cairnryan a few miles north of Stranraer has deep water and during the Second World War was developed as a back-up military harbour, in case others such as Liverpool or Greenock were bombed out. Its postwar military role was to handle surplus explosive ordnance, chemicals and other nasties, which were dumped in the Beaufort Dyke. In the late 20th century large ro-ro ferries outgrew Stranraer, and Cairnryan became the chief port. Stranraer continues with fishing and freight but has become a backwater.
From time to time there's talk of a bridge or tunnel across the North Channel. Modern engineering has made great strides across equally daunting stretches of water, but this one seems impractical with present-day technology. The latest revival of the idea is the "Boris bridge" spanning from Ulster to Mull of Kintyre. The guestimate cost was £20 billion, but others put it at over £300 billion. It would of course be lucrative to "consultants" and others with political connections in London even if ground is never broken here.
Ferries from Northern Ireland nowadays sail to Cairnryan, on the east bank of Loch Ryan a few miles north of Stranraer.
Loch Ryan Port 📍 is north of Cairnryan village and about 8 miles from Stranraer. Stena Line ferries sail here from Belfast, with 4-6 per day taking 2 hr 15 min. Buses from Belfast cross on these ferries and continue to Ayr, Glasgow and Edinburgh. There's a car hire desk at the Loch Ryan terminal.
Cairnryan harbour 📍 is four miles north of Stranraer. P&O Ferries (dead link: January 2023) sail from Larne, with six a day taking 2 hours. There is no linked bus service for the P&O sailings, so either catch a local bus (below) or take a taxi.
From Glasgow Central there are four or five connections daily via Kilmarnock to Ayr, where you change for the train via Girvan, taking 2 hrs 50 min to Stranraer. It doesn't run via Cairnryan so for the ferries change to the Ulsterbus at Ayr.
Stranraer railway station 📍 is on the town harbour quay, right by where the ferries aren't. It's half a mile walk back into town centre, and buses and taxis. There's a staffed ticket office but no machines, and the toilets are only open during ticket office hours. There is step-free access to the single platform.
Scottish Citylink / Ulsterbus 923 runs four times daily from Glasgow Buchanan Station and Ayr to the Stena terminal at Loch Ryan then to Stranraer town. It's billed as a through-service to Belfast but doesn't join the ferry, so you lump your luggage off the bus to board the ferry, then onto the Ulsterbus at the other end for the short ride to Belfast Europa station.
National Express from London via Dumfries to Stranraer remains suspended in 2022. Their suggested workaround is to travel to Glasgow and join the Ulsterbus.
Stagecoach West Scotland Bus 500 runs to Stranraer from Dumfries via Castle Douglas, Newton Stewart and Glenluce, M-Sa every couple of hours and Sunday every four hours. It doesn't serve Cairnryan. Dumfries has trains from Carlisle heading via Sanquhar and Kilmarnock to Glasgow Central.
Stagecoach West Scotland Bus 358 / 360 runs to Stranraer from Girvan M-Sa every couple of hours via the two ferry terminals. Four buses a day start from Ayr.
The bus terminal is at the foot of the former ferry pier on Lewis St; it may be shown on timetables as Port Rodie. It's just a draughty coach park but is by town centre.
From England leave M6 at Gretna and follow A75 west past Dumfries. From the Glasgow area follow M77 / A77 southwest via Kilmarnock and Ayr.
WCT local bus 350 runs 8 times a day M-Sat from Stranraer Charlotte St to either the Stena or P&O ferry terminal, depending on sailing times.
Bus 367 runs 8 times a day M-Sat from Stranraer via Lochans to Portpatrick on the west coast.
Bus 407 runs south down the peninsula from Stranraer via Lochans and Port Logan to Drummore, four times a day M-Sat, 45 mins.
There's a Tesco and a Morrisons in town centre.
Kebabs, tandoori, Chinese, fish & chips, all cluster round town centre.
Places in Stranraer include Swan Inn, Custom House, Arkhouse Inn, The Pub and The Grapes.
As of July 2021, Stranraer town and Cairnryan ferry port have 4G from EE, O2 and Vodafone, and a mobile signal from Three.
There is no land-based mobile service on the ferries. Switch off in case your phone latches onto the ferry company Wifi - they will be delighted to connect you at international rates.
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Primary administrative division