A Norwegian couple who discovered a message in a bottle believe it may have travelled more than 800 miles before washing up on their local beach.
Birger Haftor Nilsen and his partner Ellen Gjertsen made the find while picking rubbish in Burøya, an island in the north of Norway.
The note – which has some slight water damage – appears to have been dropped into the water in Aberdeen some 18 years ago, in 2003.
It appears to have been written by someone attending a summer club in Walker Road, where Torry St Fittick’s Church is.
Mr Nilsen and his partner often clean beaches in their spare time and said they often find messages in a bottle – though from far closer to home.
“We sometimes find messages in bottles which we think is very funny, most of them are from Norway.
“The bottle was hidden in a small stream. It was found at the last minute when some water had already entered the bottle.”
The couple are now trying to track down the senders so they can send a reply.
Mr Nilsen said: “The message was from 2003, we think it was a boy who has written it so they are probably 30-years-old now.
“It would be very nice to say a late ‘hello’ to the sender, and maybe return it to them.”
Litter pickers help connect letter writers
It may seem a long time ago, but it would not be the first time the author of a message in a bottle has been tracked down after decades.
Earlier this year, Emma Watt was astounded when a message she had sent from the shores of her home in Newburgh was returned to her after 27 years in the water.
Aged 10, she had dropped the bottle into the sea along with a note about her hobbies, pets, family and Take That obsession.
It was then discovered on the banks of the River Ythan by Logie Buchan by members of North East Sea Kayakers during a litter pick – with one of them then taking it to the address in the letter, where Mrs Watt’s mum still lives.
Their dog retrieved the bottle, and they wasted no time in going online to hunt sender Kaya down so they could write back.
In 2016, another message was discovered sent by holidaymaker Leigh Hughes while on Harris was discovered in Wester Ross – 20 years after it had been sent.