Stranraer

Stranraer is a town and port at the head of Loch Ryan in the South West of Scotland. It has a long history as a ferry port to Northern Ireland, although today both P&O ferries to Larne and Stena Line ferries to Belfast leave from Cairnryan just up the coast towards Ayr. This move has slightly depressed the town, with far less passing trade than previously, although it is still the nearest town to the ferry port, so is best placed to attract visitors when possible. It is also the gateway to the Rhinns of Galloway, the peninsula to the west which includes the Mull of Galloway, Scotland's most southerly point, and so a popular tourist destination.

There are two trunk routes which reach Stranraer, the A75 and A77. The A75 crosses southern Scotland from the motorway at Gretna, and so is used by traffic from England, whilst the A77 has come down the Ayrshire coast from Glasgow. Connecting the two to the east of the town, and so providing a bypass for English Traffic to reach Cairnryan, is the A751. Whilst the A75 terminates in the town, the A77 continues south west to the pretty little village of Portpatrick on the west coast, which was once the port for Ireland.

The A718 heads north west from Stranraer, following the shore of Loch Ryan to the small village of Kirkcolm. This is the last survivor of a number of short A roads that served the area around Stranraer, although the very short A717 still forms a link in the town, and the A716 forks off the A77 to the south, and continues south towards the Mull. Most of the former A roads are now B roads, criss crossing the sometimes sparsely populated peninsula. There is also a B road in Stranraer itself, the B737, which passes through the town centre, and then continues west to meet the A718.

As mentioned above, Stranraer was for many years the main ferry port from Southern Scotland to Northern Ireland. However, all of the ferries have now moved out to the new port at Cairnryan. The current sailings are:

• Cairnryan - Larne ferry
• Cairnryan - Belfast ferry

and the previous sailings are:

• Stranraer - Larne ferry
• Stranraer - Belfast ferry
• Stranraer - Douglas ferry

Routes

Route	To	Notes
A75	Dumfries, Carlisle
A77	Glasgow, Ayr, Cairnryan
A751		Link to east of town
A77	Portpatrick
A716	Drummore
A717		Harbour Street
A718	Kirkcolm
B737		Leswalt High Rd
Ferry	Belfast
Ferry	Larne
Ferry	Douglas

Links

• Undiscovered Scotland