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

At least 65 long-finned pilot whales have died after being stranded on an island off the north coast of Scotland, a rescue charity said on Thursday, in one of the largest mass strandings in Britain in recent times.

Train services between Inverness and Wick in Scotland have been disrupted after a sea wall protecting the railway line was damaged by stormy weather and high tides, with engineers currently assessing the extent of the damage.

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!

Scientists said the critically-endangered species had previously only been found in rivers and know pearl mussels have been discovered in the Scotland Lochs.

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

Many parts of Scotland had snow over the weekend, including the Highlands and Aberdeenshire, with low temperatures across much of the country. Temperatures dipped to -9.4C overnight at Tulloch Bridge in the Highlands.

Vehicles were trapped as gale-force winds carried mud-coloured waves of snow onto the A98 near Buckie. Snow ploughs were used to try and clear the stretch, close to its junction with the B9016, but were unable to make it through and the road remains closed.

Icicles covered businesses in the village of Braemar. The Met Office says Braemar in Aberdeenshire recorded the coldest night since December 1995.

The forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday comes amid wintry weather dubbed the Beast from the East II. Deep drifts of snow blocking the Banchory to Fettercairn road at Cairn Mount in Aberdeenshire.

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.

The suspected lightning strike in the Highlands also dislodged boulders the size of washing machines.

Experienced fisherman William Sutherland was trying to return to a harbour when his boat was overturned. His 6m (20ft) boat, Anna-Marie II, was capsized at the mouth of the River Brora on 23 September 2019.

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 stunning image from the University of Dundee shows the scale of the extreme weather engulfing the country. And it comes as heavy rain has caused further landslips delaying the reopening of the key roadways.

Dubbed the Sphinx, the snow on a remote Scottish mountain has in the past survived for decades at a time.

The Met Office said it was unusual for the UK's highest August temperature to be recorded in Scotland.

Scottish Water says storage levels at some sites are at 66% amid one of the driest summers in 160 years.