16th February - Skinidin, Isle Of Skye

From about 18.00 last night the wind started to pick up, and it was blowing hard overnight.  When we awoke this morning it was to a much different scene, howling winds and almost horizontal rain blowing from the south.  At one point two crows could be seen battling into the wind, then giving up and letting it carry them back from where they had come from.

The forecast was not good, it was due to be with us all day, we would not be going far today.

The photograph gives a sense of the conditions but to get the real effect you need to watch the video of the rain against the window, the movement of the trees and the sound of the wind as we look up towards the Tables.

Needless to say this storm was not a "named" storm, so by definition was not consider significant, in which case "Storm Imogen" that went through here earlier in the year must have been an incredible experience.

It continued at this pace through the morning, and standing water appeared on the ground around us.  The Rabbits that had been feeding and grooming in the sunshine yesterday came out of their burrows later in the day and could be seen to be soaked as they sought shelter from the wind by snuggling up to grass tussocks.

The rain finally abated around 17.30 and an eerie light was cast upon the hills as the sun managed to put in an all too brief appearance before it set.

It wasn't all bad though, we had a day chilled out in front of the log burner, something I can't recall us having done for a really long time.