The nation of Scotland is a splendid place in which to take a short break. The country great for buckets of differing vacations, with large areas of stunning countryside with unparalleled amounts of sites of outstanding natural beauty (perfect for mountain climbers, hikers, hill-walkers, ramblers and the likes). Scotland also features some of the best tourist attractions, including, some of the most impressive galleries and museums in the UK, imposing sites of beauty, country houses, fortified houses, historical buildings and castles plus much more. In the following article I discuss the town of Stranraer.
Stranraer is a town situated in the south of Scotland in Dumfries & Galloway, it is widely known for it being where people can sail to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Unfortunately the larger number of visitors fail to explore some of the visitor attractions in and around Stranraer. This fact is a little bit of an enigma, if you get to the town, and book a room in a bed & breakfast in Stranraer, a couple of days early it would be possible to get to see a couple of the local attractions before catching the ferry to Northern Ireland.
There are a number of things to see and do in Stranraer including the medieval tower house of the Castle of St John located in the heart of town. The Castle of St John was erected at the very beginning of the 16th century as a residence for the Laird of Wigtownshire, Ninian Adair of Kilhurst. It was renovated, in nineteen eighty eight/eighty nine, by Wigtown District Council who made it available to the public in nineteen ninety.
Another attraction close to Stranraer is the gardens of Castle Kennedy. Castle Kennedy is the centrepiece of the garden which are found, between 2 lochs, on a hill (unfortunately access to the ruins is not allowed). The castle’s landscaped gardens covers an area of seventy five acres. You can buy plants from a store which has propagated them from seed and plants from the gardens.
A further attractive visitor attraction well worth a visit is Glenluce Abbey, less than ten miles from Stranraer. Even though the abbey is ruined (actually the most ruinous of a trio of monasteries found in the South West of Scotland) it also has an incredible 15th Chapter House. Other places worth visiting include, the Machars, Port Logan, Portpatrick and the Mull of Galloway.
If you are considering taking a vacation in Stranraer you will be pleased to discover that there is a reasonable selection of hotels in Stranraer. Please take a look at our comprehensive listings of hotels in Stranraer and guest house accommodation.
