Stranraer
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Town and sea port | |
Stranraer looking west from the castle tower, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland | |
Location within Dumfries 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 | |
Stranraer (UK: /strænˈrɑːr/ stran-RAR,[4] in Scotland also /strənˈ-/ strən-;[citation needed] Scottish Gaelic: An t-Sròn Reamhar [ən̪ˠˈɾãũ.əɾ]), also known as The Toon, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries and Galloway's second-largest town, with a population of 10,593.[5]
Stranraer is the administrative centre for the Wigtownshire area of Dumfries and Galloway. It was formerly a ferry port, connecting Scotland with Belfast and Larne in Northern Ireland; the service was transferred to nearby Cairnryan in 2011.[6] It lies 87 miles (140 km) southwest of Glasgow, 52 miles (84 km) miles southwest of Ayr and 72 miles (116 km) west of Dumfries.
The name comes from Scottish Gaelic An t-Sròn Reamhar meaning "the broad headland" or "the fat nose".[7]