Inverness

Heavy rain and flooding have forced the closure of the line between Achnasheen and Achanalt, cancelling the Inverness–Kyle of Lochalsh service and causing up to 30-minute delays on routes to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Five appliances from Nairn, Grantown-on-Spey and Forres battled a moorland wildfire near Glenferness from around 4 pm until after 10:41 pm on June 12, fully extinguishing the blaze.

A humpback whale was sighted in the Beauly Firth near Inverness, passing under the Kessock Bridge and swimming close to Castle Stewart golf course before heading back out to sea. Whales this size in this area is quite a rare occurrence, adding that in case of such sightings, best practice would be to report them to British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).

Heavy snowfall has led to the closure of over 100 schools and nurseries in the Highlands, affecting more than 16,000 pupils.

Much of the Highlands was cooler and greyer than normal in July, but not particularly wet, the Met Office has said.

The spectacle of "hundreds" of dying or dead bees along the River Ness earlier this week led to a discussion on social media.

The Highlands have recorded their hottest day of the year so far – outstripping holiday hot spots in the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Aegean!

The dolphins were part of a group of more than 50 that got into difficulty in the Cromarty Firth.

Andy Meldrum, of Glencoe Mountain, said his business is working towards a date when they can welcome back skiers and snowboarders. Despite the most magnificent conditions in 11 years, the slopes remain closed because of lockdown.

The pancakes form when foam floating on a river or the sea freeze. These frozen chunks are then shaped by being rubbed against one another in eddies of water.

Pink salmon are native to the Pacific Ocean. From stocking programs in Russia in the 1960s they have spread to Northern Europe, and in 2017 male and female pink salmon were spotted in the River Ness in the Highlands of Scotland. And now, two years later, camera images suggest that their spawn has returned.

The fire came at a time of heightened risk of wildfires in parts of Scotland due to dry weather and large areas of dead vegetation. Other incidents included fires on Ben Lomond in the Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, on Gruinard Island in Wester Ross and near Dornoch.

'Unprecedented numbers' of pink salmon were seen in 2017 and the fish have been spotted again this year.