Weather warning: CalMac ferries and ScotRail trains halted as 70mph winds and heavy rain strike Scotland

Heavy rain and winds forecast to gust to 70mph caused travel disruption in parts of Scotland on Sunday, with CalMac ferry sailings halted and trains on two ScotRail routes suspended amid extreme weather warnings.

Flood warnings included for Aberfoyle’s main street in the Trossachs, where the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said homes and other buildings could be affected.

Much of CalMac’s west coast network was at a standstill, some of it all day. Major routes affected included its busiest link, between Troon in South Ayrshire and Brodick in Arran, where the operator said: “Due to strong winds forecast, all sailings are cancelled.”

Several sailings on the route have also been cancelled on Monday because of vessels being out of position, while its brand new ferry Glen Sannox will be out of service from then for a week for planned anchor repairs and other work.

This could reduce resilience because the new vessel can operate in more challenging weather than other ferries on the route. Glen Sannox’s sailings will be taken over by 41-year-old Isle of Arran, which will take an extra five minutes to complete the crossings.

Western Ferries suspended its cross-Clyde sailings between Gourock and Dunoon. The Corran ferry across Loch Linnhe to the Ardgour peninsula, south of Fort William, was also halted for a time.

Meanwhile, a fallen tree damaged overhead power wires near Livingston South Station on a secondary Glasgow-Edinburgh rail line via Shotts.

A tree blocking tracks near Livingston South on Sunday | Network Rail Scotland

Network Rail Scotland engineers were later also called to remove two trees, which fell on the Inverness-Aberdeen route between Forres and Elgin.

Passengers were warned to expect train delays because of speed restrictions imposed on nine other ScotRail routes due to strong winds, including Edinburgh to North Berwick, Helensburgh and Inverness, and Glasgow to Wemyss Bay, Dumfries, Oban and Mallaig.

Some of the restrictions were due to remain in force until mid-morning on Monday.

The Met Office warned of winds increasing by early afternoon to 50-60mph, with 70mph gusts possible on the islands and high ground.

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The agency advised, in a yellow warning in force for the whole of Scotland, northern and western England and Wales until 6pm: “Rain will accompany strong winds, which will make for very poor weather conditions, especially on roads.

“Winds will then ease from south west to north east of the warning area through the afternoon and early evening.”

A separate yellow warning for heavy rain pushing east across south west Scotland until 3pm could see 20-30mm fall “quite widely”, with 40-50mm likely on exposed south or south west-facing hills, the Met Office said.

An amber warning for up to 100mm of rain in south Wales is in force until 6am on Monday.

Two flood warnings issued by Sepa were in force on Sunday morning in Angus, for sections of the River South Esk around Finavon and Tannadice, and Kinnaird/Bridge of Dun.

These were later replaced with five others, including Aberfoyle, where the B829 road from the west end of the village beside the River Forth to Loch Ard was impassable on Sunday afternoon.

The others were for farmland and roads along three stretches of the River Earn south and west of Perth and the River Beauly in the Highlands.