As if by magic a family of six were rescued by a “Hogwarts Express” in a remote part of the Highlands yesterday.
The family – including four children – had rowed across Loch Eilt in Lochaber on Thursday.
But their boat got blown away in stormy weather leaving them stranded.
The family took refuge in a bothy and yesterday raised the alarm around 11.30am with police, who then informed coastguards.
A spokeswoman for Stornoway Coastguard said: “They were quite near the railway line so the Jacobite steam train was contacted and they picked them up and took them to Mallaig.
“They were well after the Harry Potter train came to their rescue.”
The train runs a seasonal morning service, Monday to Friday, until October 27 and uses carriages similar to those in the Harry Potter series of films.
Running a distance of 41 miles between Fort William and Mallaig, the Jacobite passes through an area of great scenic beauty including Glenfinnan Viaduct and Arisaig.
Now familiar with movie fans across world, the route is the same shown in the Harry Potter films.
The company running the Jacobite service provided Warner Brothers with the train used as the Hogwarts Express in all of the movies and allowed them use of the Jacobite’s route for filming.
The locomotive used to pull the Hogwarts Express in the films, the GWR 4900 Class 5972 Olton Hall, is presently located at Warner Bros.
The Glenfinnan Viaduct on the route has been used as a location in several films and television series, including Ring of Bright Water, Charlotte Gray, Monarch of the Glen, Stone of Destiny, German Charlie and Louise, and four films of the Harry Potter film series.
In a separate incident yesterday, two dog walkers sparked a major rescue after getting stuck in mud at a Sutherland loch.
The couple – who also had five dogs – raised the alarm just before 2.30pm when they made a 999 call saying they could not move at Loch Fleet in Dornoch.
Dornoch inshore rescue boat and coastguard teams from Dornoch, Helmsdale and Portmahomack were all sent as well as police and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. But the stranded pair managed to free themselves.
