I really wish that someone would bring back a flying boat to Loch Ryan. It would evoke so much history that went on there, and it would be such a tourist draw. When you remember that before the second world war, there were LOTS of flying boats all over the place. If there was a flying boat back there it could act as a museum for all those early flying boats too.
@jeffmurray6219
Жыл бұрын
Born and bred in Stranraer, lived in England since 1980 but lucky me I’m in Stranraer to visit my mother for a few days every 6 to 8 weeks. Its not a bad combo.
@estoney100
20 күн бұрын
Thanks for the great video! I especially liked the section on Braid Fell. My wife and I visited last September to honor an RAF Pilot who was stationed at RAF West Freugh who died in a plane crash on Braid Fell about a mile east of that wall in January of 1944. His name was Alexander Coumbis and he is buried at the Stoneykirk New Cemetery just off the A716. One of 18 CWGC graves there, immaculately maintained. We had a nice lunch at the Craignelder, had a lovely bouquet of flowers put together, that we used for a memorial to Alex at Stoneykirk, at Andrea's Florist (and an interesting conversation) . We were able to get special permission to visit West Freugh and were taken up in the tower from which you could see Braid Fell. Sadly, we were not able to access Braid Fell as the entrance at Innermessan was blocked off due to construction of additional windmills on the fell. Hope to come back one day. Lest we forget.
@algizmo7079
9 ай бұрын
Thanks for this, bit of a nostalgia watch. I remember picking brambles with my family, when in addition to thorny briars, another hazard was tripping over abandoned railway tracks of the military railway. In early and mid 70s.
@KateWinning
3 күн бұрын
Fantastic Gary - thank you! My Dad was a radar technician working on the Sunderlands during WW2. He would have been fascinated by your film and I'm so sorry I can't now talk to him about his experiences there. But now so much information from you, brilliantly filmed and presented. I'm definitely going to make the trip to Wig Bay.
@rosie48ish
Жыл бұрын
What a fascinating film and presentation!!
@scarlettvisuals
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Pat 😀😀😀
@kevinpalmer7452
4 ай бұрын
Heading for Stranrear week after next for a few days holiday we will be sure explore these WW2 sites. Very interesting and informative video thank you 🙏
@keith800
10 ай бұрын
Wonderful video , I remember it when it was a ship breakers and seeing H.M.S Bulwark being scrapped there , so much history around that area thank you for keeping it alive ,I wonder if the people who now use the modern ferry terminal ever think of what went on before .
@chiefmissile
2 жыл бұрын
Used to ride my motorbike on the concrete runways when my family farmed Kirranrae farm, Kirkcolm. Now live in Canada, so it was a blast from the past. Great video, one of the best, my kids can now see where their family came from BZ.
@scarlettvisuals
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks very much Andrew for the lovely comment 😀😀😀💪🏻
@matnichol
Жыл бұрын
That’s really interesting. I’ve driven past Wig Bay a dozen times and even parked up there without realising what it was.
@robinstroud7941
Жыл бұрын
I very much enjoyed your video. Thank you.
@boblennox9251
Жыл бұрын
Excellent portrayal of the area under wartime conditions. Great combination of vintage and real-time footage. Slightly off-topic, but maybe worth including, during the Second World War, many German bombers strayed off course and ended up flying over the Irish Republic, which was supposedly neutral. To avoid possible mistaken bombing, a prominent clifftop on the south east tip was chosen, and a large sign "EIRE," visible from the air, was constructed using large white-painted stones. One of the workers involved with the building was overheard complaining by a supervisor. His response was classic..... "Just get on with your work and be thankful you're not in Czechoslovakia!"
@oml81mm
10 ай бұрын
The stones are still there, but overgrown and the paint is long gone so they will take some finding.
@jimmcintosh4850
Жыл бұрын
A wonderfully informative film and narrative.I shouldhave liked to have seen these constructions in active times. Such a pity thar so much was destroyed post war.
@paulhill1127
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the video, very informative, interesting mate , Lee them coming
@VisualsByFrankFrew
Ай бұрын
Very informative and excellent footage from above. Well done
@paulclements3924
5 ай бұрын
Really interesting and well presented. Thank you
@GordonToal-zv3rk
3 ай бұрын
As a lad in the 60s, me and my friend George Pritchard would cycle out from Stranraer to Wig Bay and go into the old hangars where once I nearly came a cropper from a wire cable hanging from the rafters which caught me round the neck and pulled me off my bike. Also fished off the remnants of the Mulberry Harbour pontoons which were on the shore north of Cairnryan. As a lad I remember seeing the flying boats come in in Lochryan and taxi up the slipway. My dad, Terry Toal, worked at RAF West Freugh and I remember him letting me into the cockpit of a WW2 bomber there. He also worked at the Galdenoch radio station keeping the generators operational for the transmitters there. All gone now.
@catherineslater153
Жыл бұрын
Really interesting to see
@fogallan7058
Жыл бұрын
Fantastic video and great to see all these areas from the sky, gives a perspective we don't often see, amazing. One thing though, braid fell wasn't used for bombs (even though we all call it the "bombing wall") If you look at the wall you will see it is peppered with holes. It was used to zero aircraft's guns, they would fly towards it, line some sights up with the arrows and then shoot at the wall. 👍
@charlie1872
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for producing this video. In the movie starring Tom Hanks you probably know tge success of those first convoy’s depended on those brave airmen and those planes to minimize the damage by the U boats. My dad spent some time on destroyer escorts across the Atlantic and told me he had nightmares for many years after it. I am sure he would have been relieved to see those planes. I know how much time and effort you have put into making this. Congratulations
@oldoakltd
Жыл бұрын
Fascinating, thoroughly enjoyed finding out about the local history, keep up the great work, thanks.
@mandywhorlo7152
Жыл бұрын
Thank you very much! We are learning about WWII in our local area in our classroom and this has been a great resource!
@ianmacdonald1008
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Gary, This is really interesting. My Dad served at RAF Wig Bay in the early 1950s. Keep up the good work......
@MsOgr1
2 жыл бұрын
We’ll be walking around Wig Bay next week, will watch out for these sites.
@thomaspaton9166
Жыл бұрын
Wonderfully done. When you lifted the drone over the Sunderland/Catalina revetments, I was blown away. Thanks so much for your great vids and the tour.
@peterkitching7940
Жыл бұрын
Brilliant Video, very very informative, thank you very much.
@tigermcflash131
Жыл бұрын
Thank you... Fascinating and informative!
@GilGray-m3m
Ай бұрын
Fascinating. Thank you. So much history here. Wouldn't it be a real tourist attraction for the area? Lots of interest in WW2 history, and so many people across the UK and beyond have family who were based here. I remember attending a brownie rally in one of the hangers. I think a photo of it has appeared on Stranraer memories facebook page. We always called the sports field opposite Stair Park The Transit Camp, rather than the site of the school? There was also a building in Cairnryan we called the NAAFI. I think it's a house now?
@BlueFunnel80
2 жыл бұрын
Great video - one of the best I've watched here. We used to sail or cycle to, and explore in, all of those places in the 70s. But hadn't fully appreciated exactly what all their individual roles were in the bigger war effort. Thanks.
@scarlettvisuals
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for feedback Andy really appreciate it 😀😀😀😀😀
@SpitfireCGI
2 жыл бұрын
Great video of R.A.F. Wig Bay and the mass of Short Sunderlands that operated out of there and how all the bases served and the way they were all connected was fascinating .Thank you,excellent!
@sharonmccurdy3042
2 жыл бұрын
Absolutely brilliant ! Loved this, it should be included on one of ITV borders around the region , your due for bigger and better !!
@scarlettvisuals
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for awesome feedback Sharon 😀😀
@garyanderson4755
2 жыл бұрын
Great video Mark 👍 well done 👍
@markfuller4506
2 жыл бұрын
That was a fascinating tour. Thanks for taking the time to make it.
@frankguest625
2 жыл бұрын
Brilliant video. Very interesting. Always wondered about the concrete areas at wig bay. 👍
@rorymotorbiker
Жыл бұрын
Absolutely fascinating video, although I have spent some time around the area and knew some of the places you spoke about I have learned a hell of a lot more. Really brilliant history lesson.
@scott50000
2 жыл бұрын
Your best vid to date Gary....keep up the good work and thanks for your effort
@scarlettvisuals
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for awesome feedback buddy 🙏🏻
@scott50000
2 жыл бұрын
@@scarlettvisuals well deserved bud👍
@ReverseWingover
2 жыл бұрын
Always enjoy your presentations and this was a really fascinating video, I have walked the coastal path past RAF Wig Bay many times. I knew the history but wasn't aware of the slipway or workshops despite driving past them on numerous occasions. Really interesting to see just how big the surrounding infrastructure was. Thanks for this and looking forward to more of these.
@scarlettvisuals
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the awesome feedback 😀 I have a playlist on my channel of other WWII places nearby 😀
@brianmccullough8673
2 жыл бұрын
A superb video about ww2 history : the combination of your walk and talk combined with photography , drone footage and film from yesterday year brought the whole coverage to life : favourite bits the sounds of the planes and shipping - outstanding !
@scarlettvisuals
2 жыл бұрын
Glad you liked it Brian 🙏🏻😀
@RazorbaK3169
Жыл бұрын
Really interesting, not being from the area I only knew wee bits, although I do remember the "Ark Royal" coming in and the fly past with the jets, the middle jet was a Vulcan bomber. Must have been early 80's as I was on holiday at Blairs Caravan site, behind the cemetry.
@mrbaldyaudits.belfast9061
2 жыл бұрын
Great video 👍👍
@scarlettvisuals
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks pal really appreciate your feedback 💪🏻
@oml81mm
10 ай бұрын
I have been told there was a site a bit further north on the east side of the loch where modules for the mulberry harbours were built. I am not sure about the truth of that but I did go and have a look many years ago, sure enough there were signs that something went on there with very large concrete castings lying about. Have you any ideas, I wonder. I feel that this kind of thing is important, and should be recorded, so thank you!
@andrewpreston4127
3 ай бұрын
Yes, I was a kid in Stanraer in the mid/late 60's. I remember those Mulberry things. 2 or 3 of them as I recall.
@GilGray-m3m
Ай бұрын
@@andrewpreston4127 Yes they were there near Finnarts Bay. We called them the concrete boats, and I always puzzled over how they could possibly float!
@mrbaldyaudits.belfast9061
2 жыл бұрын
I Was IN Stranraer On Sunday 👍
@gregbolitho9775
5 күн бұрын
Nice 1 m8, Saw the shed cross the road but the big buildings behind the trees, RAF Building converted? Or a newer buildings built by or for the locals?
@ianmccrae3391
Ай бұрын
was born stranraer,,i can hear yer accent,,!wigtownshire,,dunragit lol,went to drochduil school ,we could see them bombing at the dunes sometimes at west fruegh
@garyroberts8502
Жыл бұрын
Don't know why cairnryan is described as a deep water port,almost all of loch Ryan is shallow between 6ft to around 15,unless it's silted up?
@salvagedb2470
Жыл бұрын
I used to fish for Crabs off the old Slipway and Fuel jetty ( it was Creepy ) back in the 70's as a Kid , as we had a Caravan at the Wigbay site ..the Hanger area then was a Scrapyard full of WW2 junk and a Crane I played there with my friends an Cousins..the place gave you the creeps and there were mini Air raid shelters near it..Up the hill was Fergusons Farm where me an my sister would go to help out and near there was what I think was a Maintance worshop facility...Across the Loch was the harbour still with various Submarines awaiting breaking..some years later They broke the Ark Royal , I stood inside it after it was cut in half on top of its huge Ballast block...I only ended up there after a massive fight with my Girlfriend and later ran out of fuel so I slept rough in my Car till morning then had to walk into Stranraer with a fuel can , Ah the 80's..still great vid an Mem jog.
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