Saturday 5 July

Morning all from Stornoway, where the day started so promising - only for the cloud to bubble up into downpours. Already had three since 10 o'clock. All in a Hebridean summer's day's work.

The showers disappeared to the north, and we are left with a sunsoaked and breezy afternoon. It is pleasantly warm, about 17C / 63F (which is warm by Outer Hebrides standards), so I went for an amble in the Castle Grounds, to discover another path that has been (re)opened around Strawberry Hill. My previous forays in the area were punctuated by much bog slogging, back breaking and knee wrenching, but that is all now replaced by a good path, which joins onto the other path, coming from Marybank, near the quarry. Very good.