Bob and I left our Belfast hotel today by Uber for a quick 15 minute ride to the harbor to catch the Stena Line ferry to Scotland. We were very happy that the winds had calmed for our sailing. The voyage was 2.5 hours and was happily very smooth. In fact, it is a mode of travel that we would recommend if you have time. Compared to air travel, the check-in and boarding process is super quick with no security screening to worry about, and the boat has comfortable seating with plenty of leg room and lots of options for snacks or eating as well as shopping and diversions for families.
We arrived into Scotland at Cairnryan where we called a cab to take us just up the road to Stranraer to spend the evening in the North West Castle Hotel.
After we got settled in our hotel room, which is actually in a separate small building behind the hotel, we did a short walk about into town and got to experience school let out traffic (both auto and pedestrian). Stranraer is the 2nd largest town in Dumfries and Galloway with a population of nearly 13,000. Stranraer is a Gaelic place name that means fat stream. It used to be the ferry port for the trip from Belfast but that was transferred to Cairnryan in 2011.
which has been used as a house, court, prison,
and military garrison. It’s now a museum.
Tomorrow we will take a bus to Dumfries to meet up with friends and celebrate a birthday.
Peckish Travels 