Joy over message in a bottle

TWINS ANGUS and Archie Hughes have helped forge links with distant shores — all thanks to a message in a bottle.

The five-year-olds tossed a plastic bottle containing their names and address and a treasure map into the Firth of Forth near their Buckhaven home and were astonished to receive a reply from children in Orkney.

Their scribbled message took almost a month to travel 281 miles to the remote northern islands, where it washed up on a beach in South Ronaldsay.

It was then handed in to Hope Primary School where youngsters in primaries one and two incorporated it into their class project on the seashore.

Pupils at Buckhaven Nursery have now embarked on a similar project and have mapped the bottle’s route.

The twins sent the message while on an outing to the local harbour with their father, Shuggy, and did not expect a reply — but they were over the moon when one arrived.

“I was bouncing up and down,” said Angus excitedly.

Mother Tasha added: “It was really windy one day and they weren’t keen to go out for a walk with the dog so their dad suggested sending a message in a bottle.

“They’d kind of forgotten about it but about a month later they got a reply.”

The letter from the children in South Ronaldsay said: “We’ve looked at the map to see where you live and where the bottle travelled to get here.

“We looked at your treasure map. We are going to use it to have a treasure hunt in the school grounds and then are going to write stories about it.”

The letter added: “We are also going to send a message in a bottle. We hope someone finds it.”

The twins adventure now features on the wall of their nursery, complete with photographs and maps.

Angus, left, and his brother Archie were over to moon when they received a reply to their message in a bottle.

Picture: Steve MacDougall.