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'Stranraer' ('''An t-Sròn Reamhar''' in Gaelic) is a town in the south of Scotland in the west of the region of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire. It is best known as a ferry port connecting Scotland with Belfast in Northern Ireland.

Contents

Geography and administration

History

Present day

Culture

Reference

Geography and administration

Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. The name comes from the Scottish Gaelic "''An t-Sròn Reamhar''" meaning literally "The Fat Nose", but which more prosaically might be rendered as "the broad headland".
Stranraer is one of the administrative centres of the region.

History

The Castle of St. John is a medieval 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 latter during the Killing Times in the 1680s. Stranraer became a burgh of barony in 1596 and a royal burgh in 1617.
Stranraer and its surrounding area saw a significant amount of activity during the Second World War, as it became a focus for anti U-boat work. Flying boats operated from the area to attempt to secure the waters of the North Channel and the south western coast of Scotland, with both areas seeing almost all Britain’s shipping imports pass through those seas 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 the June 25 1942, when making his second visit of the war to the USA.

Present day

Stranraer is best known as a ferry port connecting Scotland with Belfast (and previously with Larne) in Northern Ireland. In 2003 Stena Line announced plans to transfer its operations to a new port at Old House Point, north of Cairnryan. Later Stena and P&O announced an agreement to share Cairnryan port. The move north is part of an effort to shorten the journey time of the Stena HSS service (High-speed Sea Service) and increase sailings from four to five per day. The HSS, a high-speed catamaran, is obliged to slow considerably when in Loch Ryan and Belfast Lough due to the large wake which it produces at higher speeds. The sailing time from Cairnryan to Stranraer is approximately ten minutes.
The town is the home of Stranraer F.C., the local semi-professional football team who play at Stair Park. Next season they will be playing in the Scottish Third Division after being beaten by East Fife in this season's Scottish Second Division play offs.
The Old Town Hall, built in 1776, now houses Stranraer Museum with its displays of Victorian Wigtownshire and the town's polar explorers, Sir John Ross and his nephew James Clark Ross.
Stranraer has five primary schools and one secondary school (Stranraer Academy). The 'Academy', as it is referred to, is a comprehensive school consisting of two 1960's modernist buildings and one ultra modern. The New Building has excellent physical education facilities. The school has around 1100 pupils, 90 members of staff and serves both the town itself and the surrounding villages and rural populations.
At this present day Stranraer lies as Dumfries and Galloways Second Largest town (or as locals call it, 'toon/the toon') with a population spurring of nearly 13,000+ compared to that of the next town Annan (nearly 8,000). It is currently undergoing redevlopment in the South Central Area (known as Dick's Hill, Ochtralure and the southern part of Liddesdale into the Gallow Hills)

Culture

A reference to Stranraer is made in the song ''Cap In Hand'' by The Proclaimers, in which they say "I can undestand why Stranraer lie so lowly, they could save a lot of points by signing Hibs goalie." A reference to Andy Goram.

Reference

★ Ordnance Survey Landranger Map (number 82) - 1:50,000 scale (1.25 inches to 1 mile).