Stranraer

Stranraer stands at the head of Loch Ryan, a sheltered inlet in the southwest of Scotland. Around 1520 the Adair family built the tower house known as the Castle of St John here, as a residence and centre for their estates. The village became a burgh of barony in 1595 and a royal burgh in 1617. Its harbour and position near the Irish Sea supported fishing and connections across the water.