For the Cluett family, a camping trip in the Scottish Highlands had become a nightmare… until they were rescued by the Hogwarts Express.
According to the BBC, Jon and Helen Cluett, along with their four children ages 6-12, had been staying in a remote area of the Highlands when their boat was swept away by a river surge. Faced with a three mile trek back to their car, the Cluetts called the police for help, and were told that a train would be passing by their location and would stop to pick them up.
To the delight of the kids, the locomotive that came to their rescue turned out to be the Jacobite, the steam train used as the Hogwarts Express in the “Harry Potter” films.
“I’m slightly sad because I’d lost my boat,” Jon Cluett told BBC, “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.”
Potter fans in Scotland don’t need to get stranded in the wilderness to take a ride on the Hogwarts Express. The Jacobite is used by the West Highway Railway Line to take tourists on rides through the Highlands. Many of the aerial shots of the Hogwarts Express seen in the “Potter” films are of the Jacobite’s usual route, including the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which is also featured in the films.
The Cluetts still haven’t found their boat, though they’re hoping it will turn up.