A Moray teenager who sent a message in a bottle more than 15 years ago has been invited to reclaim the note after it washed ashore in Russia.
Emily Plant was just two when she sent the missive out to sea during Findochty’s gala celebrations in 2001.
She is now 17, and was astounded to discover that the bottle had been picked up on a northern stretch of the Russian coast 2,000 miles away – which is inhabited by wolves and polar bears.
Emily’s surprise was doubled when she learned that it had been recovered by a Russian tidal expert – who is paying for her to fly to Iceland to recover it in person during an international conference next month.
The Buckie High School pupil has lived in Findochty all her life, and works shifts at the village’s Admiral’s Inn bar.
Yesterday, she confessed that she could not remember dispatching the bottle – and reflected on the “bizarre” turn her life had taken since it was found.
Emily said: “I think it was sent as part of a competition to do with gala day, and it was most likely my granny who would have entered my name.
“I had no idea about it, I was in bed with tonsillitis when I heard it had been found so I was a bit confused.
“It all seemed really bizarre, then a Russian lady sent me a message asking if I could go to Iceland to collect it – and that the costs would be covered.
“Now word has spread about it, folk I don’t even know have been coming up to me asking if I’m the girl with the bottle and tourists in the pub are talking about it.”
A local fisherman emptied two heavy bags of bottles containing messages into the North Sea in 2001 – though many returned to the bay at Findochty shortly thereafter.
Emily will attend the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik in early October, which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will attend to give a key speech.
Emily added: “I’ll never get a chance like this again, I’m very keen on modern studies so I’d love to meet Nicola Sturgeon.”
Findochty Community Council’s Shona Conlin will also attend the summit, to give a presentation about the village’s 300-year history.
Moray message in bottle washes ashore in Russia
