Tens of thousands of travellers face difficult journeys as Storm Gareth brings strong winds and heavy rain to southwest Scotland and much of England and Wales.

From the start of services on Wednesday, widespread cancellations are planned.

Network Rail said: "For safety reasons, a speed restriction of 50mph will be imposed on some routes in the northwest of England, causing delays of up to 30 minutes."   

Air and sea links in Scotland are also affected. Many Caledonian MacBrayne ferry sailings between the mainland and the Western Isles have been cancelled on Wednesday morning, with decisions to be taken during the day about later departures.

Loganair, which serves many Scottish islands as well as destinations in the north of Ireland, has offered passengers booked on Wednesday the chance to postpone their journey up to 20 March.

The Dutch airline KLM has cancelled at least 20 flights to and from Amsterdam, including links from London City, Madrid, Moscow, Paris and Stockholm.