Storms

We've had the winds up to gale force several times over the last couple of days, the direction steadily moving round from southwest to west, with squalls coming through accompanied by sleet and hail.

This morning we drove to Sanna for a walk, passing these Achnaha sheep during a particularly vicious shower.  Look carefully, and the hail can be seen coming 'down' almost horizontally.

We started our walk at the north end of the beach, where the Allt Sanna enters the sea, staining the water with its peat.  While the inner part of the bay, protected by Sanna Island, was calm, the full force of the storm can be seen out to sea, with big waves breaking over  Sanna Point.

There are always casualties in a storm, but this little seal pup, washed up on the beach, looks too decayed to have died recently.

Further along, the beach was more exposed, so the the wind brought the breakers straight in, sending the sea hissing up the sand.  It also brought matching waves of dark clouds out of the west, squall fronts which came across quickly, pelting us with hail. There were times when the gusts were so strong it was difficult to stand up.

We climbed the hill at the south end of the beach to look back across Sanna sands to the Isle of Muck. At the time there were two other people on the beach, but other groups came down to enjoy the elemental ferocity of the storm.

Soon after we arrived home CalMac's Clansman came up the Sound, butting into the waves.  It's the first time we've seen her since Friday, so ferry services to the outer isles have been badly disrupted, though the Tobermory ferry seems to have managed to cross regularly.

Some have been rather wiser than us, and stayed at home throughout the bad weather.  That's Bobby on the left, taking up half the bed.