Local notes

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. Could be a motto down south. Up here, we had rain overnight, but come the morning it was dry and bright. A cruiseliner is in port, the Black Prince, in for its third visit this summer. She normally docks alongside pier no 1 for the day, whilst its passengers go on trips round the island.

I forgot to mention that the district of South Lochs, which I visited yesterday, is the site for a proposed windfarm. More than 50 turbine towers, each standing 150 m / 500 ft tall, could be built in the moors behind the villages. You have to bear in mind that the highest hill in the populated part of the district is less than 600 feet tall. Needless to say, it would destroy the visual amenity of the area. In Eishken, the adjacent mountainous area, another 50-odd turbines will be built on the summits of the mountains. It will be an industrial eyesore of monumental proportions. A monument to greed.

This is Achnasheen station on the railway between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh. Trains cannot proceed west of this station following five separate landslips between Achnasheen and Strathcarron. Network Rail have warned that it could take 10 days to clear the line and restore normal services. Passengers are being transferred by bus in the meantime.