Message in a bottle found on Barra after 4,000-mile journey

A message in a bottle has washed up on a Scottish beach more than 4,000 miles away from its origin.

Map showing the route the bottle took, from the Dominican Republic to the west coast of Barra. Picture: Google Maps

The bottle, thrown into the sea in the summer of 2015, was written by a four-year-old German boy on holiday in the Dominican Republic.

The boy, known only as Luke, asked whoever found the bottle to reply to him as soon as possible.

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Kenny MacKinnon, a firefighter based at Barra Airport, found the bottle on the island’s west coast.

He told the Press and Journal newspaper: “I had just finished cutting the greens on the Barra Golf Course, and since it was a nice night I went down to the shoreline for a walk.

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“I saw a bottle bouncing on the water, and because it’s a pebble beach, I went and got it before it smashed. It had growths on it, like barnacles, so I guessed it had been in the sea for a long time.”

Mr MacKinnon revealed how he could see there was a message inside, so he took the bottle home and removed the cork to get it out.

He continued: “It was a letter from a boy from Germany who was on holiday in the Dominican Republic, and he had sent the message from there in the summer of 2015.”

The message read: “Hello. My name is Luke. I’m on holidays with my brother Earle and my father Felix and my mother Kerstin.

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“We are staying 3 weeks in the Dominican Republic. I’ll become 5 years on the 11th of November. I’m going on to write this letter in hope to receive an answer as soon as possible.”

Mr MacKinnon confirmed that he had replied to the boy, telling him how far the bottle had travelled, as well as including photos of the bottle and its final destination.