Stranraer

Stranraer is a town in Inch, Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. It lies on the shores of Loch Ryan, on 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 including the surrounding area of nearly 13,000.Stranraer is an administrative centre for the West Galloway Wigtownshire area of Dumfries and Galloway. It is best known as having been a ferry port, previously connecting Scotland with Belfast and Larne in Northern Ireland; the last service was transferred to nearby Cairnryan in November 2011. The main industries in the area are the ferry port, with associated industries, tourism and, more traditionally, farming.Some argue that the name comes from the Scottish Gaelic An t-Sròn Reamhar meaning "The Fat Nose", but which more prosaically might be rendered as "the broad headland". The most commonly accepted explanation is that it derives its name from the strand or burn which divides the row, raw, of houses on its banks. (The town burn, now under the two Strand streets.) In time Strandraw was named and spelled Stranrawer, and afterwards Stranraer.TransportThe A77 runs north towards Ayr, Prestwick and Glasgow. The A75 runs east from Stranraer to Gretna, with links to the M6 going to Carlisle. The A75 is part of European route E18, but, like all European routes, it is not signposted as such in the United Kingdom.