Stranraer Ferry Terminal

Latitude: 54° 55'N
Longitude: 05° 02'W
Country: Scotland

Ownership: Stena Line Ltd
Type: Private
Usage: Ferry Terminal
Address: Ferry terminal, Stranraer, Dumfries & Galloway, DG9 8EL
Telephone no: 08705 755755
Website: www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry...er-belfast

About Stranraer Ferry Terminal

In 1872 a link between Larne and Stranraer was started by the Larne and Stranraer steamboat company.

Stranraer, situated at the head of Loch Ryan, together with Larne in Ireland, became the first ports in the UK with dedicated roll-on roll-off ramps without needing fixed tide docks for cars and lorries in 1938, beating Dover by over 10 years. These ramps, built to serve the first purpose built ro-ro car ferry in Britain, the third named Princess Victoria, proved to be a major boon during the war.

Stranraer is a bustling ferry port and 'gateway to Northern Ireland'. It was more than 140 years ago, in 1862, that Stranraer port and town began to grow in importance when the Stranraer to Larne ferry route started operation. The town's importance was sealed in 1868 when the cross channel ferry service was officially transferred from Portpatrick, some 15 minutes away, to Stranraer.

Stena Line operates the HSS on the Belfast-Stranraer run and this giant twin-hulled craft sails at twice the speed of conventional ferries. It was designed to cruise at 40 knots, so as to cut crossing times of the Irish Sea in half, to 1 hour 45 minutes.

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