Strong winds have caused travel disruption for people living on Scottish islands this weekend, with ferries and flights cancelled.
A Met Office yellow weather warning for wind is in place until 9pm on Sunday, December 22, covering the whole of Scotland as well as areas south of the border.
Several Loganair flights from Glasgow Airport to the Hebridean islands have been cancelled, and 18 CalMac ferry routes have also been axed.
Gusts of up to 82mph were recorded at Kirkwall on Orkney and at South Uist in the Outer Hebrides – the strongest winds across the UK as of 2.30pm today, the Met Office confirmed.
CalMac cited “strong winds with gusts up to 60mph” as the reason it cancelled all sailings on the Troon to Brodick service, connecting Ayrshire to the Isle of Arran.
The ferry operator pledged to review cancellations on the Oban to Craignure route, connecting Argyll and Bute with the Isle of Mull, with the possibility that a 7.20pm sailing could go ahead on Sunday.
However, it cited “strong winds and sea swell” as grounds for cancelling all other sailings, including the 6pm ferry from Oban, while farmers were warned no livestock could be transported on sailings to Tiree and Coll from Oban on Monday.
Western Ferries, which operates car and passenger ferries sailing between Hunter’s Quay, Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, and Gourock, Inverclyde, said their services are also suspended due to the weather, while all sailings on the Cairnryan to Belfast Stena Line route are cancelled, except the 11.30pm sailing which is listed as being “in doubt”.
Loganair flights to Barra, the Isle of Lewis, and Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides, and to Islay, as well as Tiree, in the Inner Hebrides, were cancelled on Sunday.
Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud told the PA news agency that gusts of up to 75mph are expected today.
He said: “There will continue to be more challenging travel conditions, with coastal areas seeing around 50 to 60mph winds.
“Extremely exposed coastal areas could see up to 70 or 75mph and parts of the west are expected to see 40 or 50mph.
“In the evening we are expecting these to ease and gradually drop off.
“My advice for people travelling today and tonight is to take it easy, particularly in the north and east. The main concern is that there’s the potential for icy patches in some areas.”
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