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'Hogwarts Express' Saves Family Stranded In The Wilderness

'Hogwarts Express' Saves Family Stranded In The Wilderness

"They were well after the Harry Potter train came to their rescue."

James Dawson

James Dawson

A family stranded in the Scottish Highlands have described how they were rescued by the Hogwarts Express steam train.

Jon and Helen Cluett told the BBC how they and their four young children had been staying at a remote bothy in Lochaber, when their canoe was swept away by a swollen river.

"You can get to it by quite an arduous walk in - or you can paddle for 10 minutes in a canoe across the loch from the road. We had a canoe so we paddled across the loch to the bothy," Mr Cluett told The BBC.

Credit: Warner Bros.

"We were all in he bothy, warm and fed - all was good - but we'd moored the boat in a little burn behind the bothy, tied it to a wall, pulled high out of the water. My daughter woke up yesterday and says 'Daddy, Daddy - the stream is massive'.

"The burn was overflowing. The entire area was underwater. The rocks I'd tied the boat to were pulled apart and the boat was gone."

They phoned the police for assistance, who then arranged for the steam train used in the Harry Potter films to pick them up.

"The amazing thing was it wasn't just any train. The next train that was passing was the Jacobite steam train - the Harry Potter, Hogwarts Express steam train that goes up and down that line," Mr Cluett added

Credit: PA Images

"I'm slightly sad because I'd lost my boat - but the kids, when they saw the steam train coming, all sadness left their little faces and was replaced by excitement and fun - just the real joy of having an adventure and having the train stop right next to them."

The train - actually named The Jacobite - is used for excursions on the West Highland Railway Line. It journey crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct that also features prominently in the movies. It runs a seasonal morning service, Monday to Friday, until October 27 and uses carriages similar to those in the Harry Potter series of films.

"They were quite near the railway line so the Jacobite steam train was contacted and they picked them up and took them to Mallaig," a spokeswoman for Stornoway Coastguard told the Mirror.

"They were well after the Harry Potter train came to their rescue."

Featured Image Credit: PA Images

Topics: Harry Potter, Family, Scotland