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The sight of planes landing and taking off from the nearby Kirkwall Airport adds to the charm of this picture postcard location.

At the time I was driving to Inganess Beach on the outskirts of Kirkwall.

At Kirkwall in Orkney it was 21.4C, the highest it had been in the islands this late in the year since 1998.

Overnight Gusts of 84mph were recorded in Salsburgh, North Lanarkshire, 81mph in Kirkwall on Orkney and 80mph in Wick in the Highlands.

Rail operator ScotRail stated they expected to run normal service, save for a few alterations on the Highland line, while all flights to and from Kirkwall Airport in Orkney have been cancelled for Wednesday afternoon.