With a yellow weather warning in place for Orkney from Saturday, islanders are preparing for disruption to travel to, from, and within the county ahead of the festive season.
At the time of writing, the MET office is predicting gusting winds of above 80mph late on Saturday continuing into early Sunday.
This comes as many will be trying to get to Orkney to spend the festive break with loved ones and others will be trying to leave the county to spend time elsewhere.
It may also mean some disruption to those planning to use Orkney’s internal ferry services as we near Christmas.
Early warning sent to ferry customers as Orkney’s travel links brace for bad weather
At the moment, the company that runs the lifeline ferry service between Orkney and the Scottish Mainland, NorthLink Ferries, has issued an early disruption warning to customers.
This warning is in place until Christmas Eve this Tuesday.
The company’s crossings scheduled for today have seen changes to timings as it works around the bad weather, and all of its planned sailings for Saturday are currently under review.
Meanwhile, the council-run internal ferry service is keeping an eye on the forecast, while preparing to “react as needed” a spokesperson said.
This will no doubt be causing a huge amount of extra stress for many islanders.
Shapinsay resident prepares to travel to Poland for family reunion
Joanna Sosnowska lives on the island of Shapinsay.
She and her son are planning to travel to Krakow, Poland, to spend the festive season with her wider family.
It will be her first time doing so in 16 years.
As she is the lead cook at The Smithy restaurant and pub on the island, December is already a busy time of year for her.
Her journey will begin with a half-hour ferry crossing to the Orkney mainland to where she will catch a flight to Edinburgh on Sunday.
However, with the forecast looking so poor, she has had to make arrangements to leave Shapinsay earlier than planned.
She said: “Living on the islands, you expect some disruption to travel services – especially in winter. It’s just part of life.
“But when it’s in the days right before Christmas it causes you a huge amount of extra stress and worry.
“Working in hospitality at this time of year is already stressful enough!
“I am very hopeful that I can make it to Poland for Christmas and spend the day with my family.
“The idea of missing it is heartbreaking for myself and my family.”
Ferry services place crossings ‘under review’
The ferry services have not made any concrete decision as to their sailings yet.
However, it seems inevitable that cancellations will occur.
A council spokesperson said: “Whilst the forecast indicates northwest gale force winds today, it’s looking like that may increase to severe gales, perhaps storm force winds across Orkney on Saturday.
“Folk booked on Orkney Ferries are being advised of the potential for disruptions to travel.
“Ferries being tied up as necessary for everyone’s comfort and safety.
“This type of weather is not unusual for Orkney at any time of the year, but particularly during the winter months.
“The advice remains as always: stay home and cosy if you can, make sure items outside are secure and be prepared for the potential for power outages.”
For winter safety advice from the council head over to their dedicated webpage.
For the latest updates from Orkney Ferries visit their Facebook page or website.
Likewise, updates from NorthLink are available on their Facebook page and their website.
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