Old Photograph Main Street Cairnryan Scotland

Old photograph of cottages and church on the Main Street in Cairnryan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Cairnryan is a linear settlement, looking across the main A77 road to Loch Ryan. It was established in 1701, when Lochryan House was built, along with many of the houses, in the North End of the village, for workers on the Lochryan Estate. Into the 1800s, Cairnryan was an important staging post on the coach route to Ayr, with half a dozen inns along this short stretch of coast. It also achieved a less desirable reputation as a haunt of highwaymen preying on that same passing traffic. WWII saw the building of some sections for the two Mulberry harbours in Cairnryan, these were floating ports on which the allies depended after D-Day. The village is important in maritime history, with two ferry services connecting Scotland and Northern Ireland.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

View the most recent Tour Scotland photographs.