Stranraer station

[Donny158]

Hello.

I'm on holiday up around the Ayr area next week and the wife has given me the green light to take her on an adventure by rail. I have never done the line from Ayr to Stranraer so I will be taking the wife and my 1yr old son on the line for the day.
A couple of questions if anyone can help please?
Is Stranraer station near the town?
Is Stranraer worth visiting with my family?
Is there any cafe's or pubs at the station?
Are any of the places the train stops at worth visiting such as Maybole, Barrhill or Givan?
Many thanks in advance.

Ps we also plan to go by rail to Largs if we get spare time as again I need to do the line between Ardrossen beach and Largs. Is Largs worth visiting?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Stranraer station is about a 5-8 minute walk from the town, straight across the old ferry terminus queueing lanes which is a rather odd sight to see. Not much to do there however, though there are loads of decent attractions down that way if you have a car. Also, the line from just north of Barrhill station to a fair way south of it is beautiful, definitely worth looking out for.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Hello.

I'm on holiday up around the Ayr area next week and the wife has given me the green light to take her on an adventure by rail. I have never done the line from Ayr to Stranraer so I will be taking the wife and my 1yr old son on the line for the day.
A couple of questions if anyone can help please?
Is Stranraer station near the town?

"No, it's near the railway"* (and the disused ferry terminal), but a pleasant enough walk in good weather.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.9050578,-5.0238327,16z

Is Stranraer worth visiting with my family?

On a sunny day, possibly.

Is there any cafe's or pubs at the station?

No, but a few in the town.

Are any of the places the train stops at worth visiting such as Maybole, Barrhill or Givan?

Barrhill is in the middle of nowhere, (and see * above). Maybole is inland and smallish, Girvan is on the coast and has a bit more to see.

Ps we also plan to go by rail to Largs if we get spare time as again I need to do the line between ArdrossAn beach and Largs. Is Largs worth visiting?

Largs is quite fun in a seaside sort of way. The train stops there (except once).

 

[CallySleeper]

Unless you like taking photos of signalboxes, don't bother planning to spend much time at the station. Do give yourself plenty of time to find it/walk there!

 

[bkhtele]

The rail line from Girvan to Stranraer is lovely a great trip. In Stranraer there is a small attractive park across the main road from the old passenger terminal. If you like run down railway stations Stranraer station is interesting especially when compared to old photos on a google search!

I like Girvan around the harbour area, or you may be able to get a bus (about 6 minutes) or taxi from Stranraer to Castle Kennedy Gardens which are attractive.
http://www.castlekennedygardens.co.uk. Guess a pre booked taxi would be good value for a family it is about 3 miles, good recent reviews on trip advisor.

Alternatively you could do a day trip to Belfast from Ayr. from Stena web site ex Cairnryan £25 on specific dates including ferry & access to very good Titanic exhibition.

"TITANIC BELFAST BY COACH
TAKE A DAY TRIP TO THE UNMISSABLE TITANIC BELFAST® EXHIBITION IN THE GROUNDS OF THE SHIPYARD WHERE SHE WAS DREAMED OF, DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED."

 

[MidnightFlyer]

This is unrelated to the OP's question but on bkhtele's point, I have always found it slightly odd just how much of a pride Belfast takes in something that would turn out to be one of the worst disasters in maritime history. Of course Belfast has a great history of shipbuilding and other maritime activities, but it's a bit weird how they focus so intensely on one point of it.

 

[Hornet]

This is unrelated to the OP's question but on bkhtele's point, I have always found it slightly odd just how much of a pride Belfast takes in something that would turn out to be one of the worst disasters in maritime history. Of course Belfast has a great history of shipbuilding and other maritime activities, but it's a bit weird how they focus so intensely on one point of it.

I think it is more to do with Harland and Wolff's shipyard, than the Titanic. It's just that Titanic is more famous than the shipyard to many people. Harland and Wolff's cranes Samson and Goliath are an iconic feature of the landscape of Belfast. It was a huge employer of local people and one of the biggest shipyards in the UK. Titanic was but one of the huge amount of ship tonnage that left the yard.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I think it is more to do with Harland and Wolff's shipyard, than the Titanic. It's just that Titanic is more famous than the shipyard to many people. Harland and Wolff's cranes Samson and Goliath are an iconic feature of the landscape of Belfast. It was a huge employer of local people and one of the biggest shipyards in the UK. Titanic was but one of the huge amount of ship tonnage that left the yard.

Indeed, I realise what an impact H&W have had on Belfast's history, it's just that for me it seems to be aimed purely at the Titanic: even renaming Bridge End station Titanic Quarter for example, rather than the vast and broad history of the docks / shipyards in general.

 

[CallySleeper]

This is unrelated to the OP's question but on bkhtele's point, I have always found it slightly odd just how much of a pride Belfast takes in something that would turn out to be one of the worst disasters in maritime history. Of course Belfast has a great history of shipbuilding and other maritime activities, but it's a bit weird how they focus so intensely on one point of it.

You've never been to the Titanic museum them?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

You've never been to the Titanic museum them?

I went to the exhibition on it at the Transport Museum at Cultra and the one on Albert Dock in Liverpool, but I've never been to the one in Belfast city, alas. I'm told it's good though. All truth be told, I've seen enough of the Titanic to last me a lifetime.

 

[Hornet]

Indeed, I realise what an impact H&W have had on Belfast's history, it's just that for me it seems to be aimed purely at the Titanic: even renaming Bridge End station Titanic Quarter for example, rather than the vast and broad history of the docks / shipyards in general.

Also every American seens to be related to someone in Ireland, (or who was on the Titanic). The love coming over to discover their 'roots'. You got to give them the benefit of believing what they see, or even pump out in their films. They are a bit lacking on their grasp of history, (or geography for that matter). I rib my other half every time a U.S. President turns up in Ireland, as the Irish media dig out some tenuous relationship tying an Irishman to the latest President, (even Obama). She's a born and bred Dubliner, but was horrified to find out recently, that her Great, Great Grandmother was an Essex girl. Cue much more ribbing.

 

[Condor7]

The latest edition of VideoTrack has a feature on Stranraer and surrounding rail related areas.

 

[bkhtele]

This is unrelated to the OP's question but on bkhtele's point, I have always found it slightly odd just how much of a pride Belfast takes in something that would turn out to be one of the worst disasters in maritime history. Of course Belfast has a great history of shipbuilding and other maritime activities, but it's a bit weird how they focus so intensely on one point of it.

I think there is something in the N.Ireland psyche that we like to "celebrate" disasters. The early tours of Belfast visited all the worst areas, and bad things that happened. - the Titanic exhibition is amazing and a major tourism investment. Belfast is very different now and as safe as another UK city.

 

[TrainNut11]

Yeah I would agree with everyone who has posted. The trip from Ayr to Stranraer is well worth doing, especially after leaving Girvan. It goes through some real stunning scenery and it feels like you are travelling to nowhere, then you arrive in Stranraer. As a town, its ok, there are some pubs and small places to eat but it has certainly lost a lot since the ferry moved.

As was also said, the station is getting run down since the ferry service moved to Cairnryan. If the weather is good and there is no breeze when you get off the train, you can even hear all the old car ramps and equipment creaking!! There are no refreshments at Stranraer station but the town is about a 10 minute walk away.

Largs is also very nice. You can walk all the way along the seafront and back and its a very relaxed town. You can also venture across to Rothesay on the small Cal Mac ferry, which I didn't do cos of time but on a nice day that would be nice.

 

[Liam]

Largs is also very nice. You can walk all the way along the seafront and back and its a very relaxed town. You can also venture across to Rothesay on the small Cal Mac ferry, which I didn't do cos of time but on a nice day that would be nice.

Cumbrae from Largs, Rothesay from Wemyss Bay.

 

[Donny158]

Thanks to everyone for the replies and useful information! We had our little adventure to Stranraer yesterday and we all enjoyed our trip! We left Prestwick at 10.11 and changed onto the 10.39 at Ayr for our journey to Stranraer. When the train arrived it surprisingly was 2 x 156! ( It seems a waste for such a long train on this service...any reason why?) We pretty much had the carriage to ourselves and enjoyed the very relaxed and enjoyable journey through some really nice scenery! We arrived early at Stranraer and the view to the right was amazing.....something we didn't expect! We also found Stranraer town to nice and not at all as bad as we were expecting to be! The only thing that doesn't look good is the disused port.
We decided to travel back on the 12.50 which obviously was the same train. We decided to visit Girvan. The beach at Girvan was really nice in the sunshine and again the views were tremendous.
After enjoying ourselves at Girvan we got the 15.35 which took is straight back to Prestwick. This was a service from Stranraer and again was a 2x 156 and again we half a carriage to ourselves.
We visited Largs earlier in the week and found that to be a nice little town and again had great views from the seafront. I would also recommend a trip to Millport via the ferry from Largs!
Many thanks again!!