CalMac cancels ferries on Ullapool-Stornoway route amid Met Office weather warning for gales in the Highlands and Islands
CalMac ferries will not sail in or out of Ullapool this Saturday after the ferry operator announced a string of weather-related cancellations.
This weekend is expected to be the busiest time on the region's roads this festive season, as people begin their big Christmas getaways to visit relatives and friends.
But with storm-force winds forecast this weekend, CalMac has urged ferry passengers on the Ullapool-Stornoway route to travel today (Friday) "where possible", amid fears that their original sailings may be axed.
No ferries will operate between Ullapool and Stornoway on Saturday, and the 2pm Sunday crossing from Stornoway to the mainland is also cancelled "due to adverse weather".
The Met Office is predicting wind gusts of up to 80mph in The Minch on Saturday, and speeds of up to 60mph on Sunday.
The 6.30pm Ullapool departure on Sunday was still scheduled to operate when CalMac issued its latest update at 9.15am on Friday - but it warned that it is also "liable to disruption or cancellation at short notice" and a Met Office weather warning will still be in force at the time of that crossing.
Overnight freight ferries on the route are also likely to face possible disruption or cancellation over the weekend.
Elsewhere in the north, Pentland Ferries was advising passengers travelling between Caithness and Orkney on Friday that some sailings will be departing earlier than scheduled.
The 5pm sailing from St Margaret’s Hope will now set sail at 3pm instead, with a final check-in at 2.30pm.
And the 6.45pm sailing from Gills Bay will depart at 4.30pm instead, with passengers’ final check-in at 4pm.
At the time of writing it had not yet issued any travel advice for the weekend.
But Northlink Ferries is warning passengers arriving or departing the Pentland Firth that there is a “high probability” that sailings be cancelled on Saturday afternoon and all of Sunday. The Saturday morning sailings were also “under review with a possible earlier departure” at the time of writing.
A spokesperson said: “MV Hamnavoe, due to forecasted adverse weather conditions the [Saturday] AM sailings are currently under review with a possible earlier departure, [Saturday] PM sailings are under review with a high probability of cancellation, update to follow.
“Due to adverse weather conditions all sailings [on Sunday] are under review with a high probability of cancellation.”
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