Isle of Whithorn - The Harbour

The Harbour

The harbour has regular landings from Irish Sea shell fishing boats supplying the local processing factories. The Isle's own fleet is engaged in light trawling and lobster fishing. A number of leisure craft are kept here and the Isle is increasingly being used as a stopping off location for pleasure traffic plying the west coast, and as a launching site for trailer based craft such as small angling boats and diving RIB's.

A pier was first erected in 16th century, but a more substantial structure was erected in 1790 to advance commerce, such as the trade with Whitehaven and other English ports. In 1969 the pier was badly damaged by storm and was only rebuilt after a prolonged campaign by local people. The perch is a reef of rock that runs out from the west side of the mouth of the Isle bay; it can be a hazard to craft coming into the Isle and for many years the end was marked with an iron pole. In the 19th century the Isle also had strong trade links with Ireland and the Isle of Man, and ships were being built as well as sailed from here. The Countess of Galloway, the steam packet once regularly sailed from here to Liverpool. By the end of the 20th century trading vessels had given way almost entirely to yachts and other leisure craft.

The Wigtown Bay Sailing Club welcomes all visiting yachtsmen whether they arrive by sea or by land with trailered boats. The Clubhouse is situated on the Harbour and has all the usual facilities. The Harbour dries 3 hours either side of high water, and there is a dedicated visitors' berth at the outer end of the quay. There are also two slipways for launching trailer boats or dinghies, one of which is at the inner end of the quay and is sheltered in all weathers. The other, which gives access into the bay, can be used at virtually any state of the tide. The club is active throughout the summer with dinghy or cruiser races organised for most weekends and some races mid-week.

An unusual feature of the harbour was a fish trap; a wall or dyke running across part of the upper portion of the inlet which trapped fish as the tide went out. This was still marked as late as the 1850s on the OS map.