A school project from 1994 has finally made its way back to sender — across the North Sea and three decades on.
Back in 1994, a 12-year-old girl in Moray slipped a handwritten letter into a Moray Cup bottle and let it go into the North Sea. She didn’t think much of it. Fast forward to 2025 — she’s now in her 40s — and the bottle has finally been found. Not just found, but replied to. By a kind stranger in Norway. With a postcard.
Alaina Beresford’s message in a bottle just closed the loop on one of the slowest, sweetest mail deliveries in Scottish memory.
A Schoolgirl’s Scribble, a Bottle, and a Long Ocean Drift
It started as a simple school project. Something teachers do to get kids curious about geography, tides, communication. Alaina, then just 12 and growing up in Portknockie, penned a short letter and sealed it in a Moray Cup bottle — a familiar fizzy drink in Scotland’s northeast.
The idea? Send it into the North Sea and hope someone, someday, finds it.
Well, someone did. But it took 31 years.
One-sentence paragraph.
It eventually washed up on a small Norwegian island. It might’ve ended up buried or broken — but fate had a plan.
Found During a Beach Clean-Up in Norway
The bottle was discovered by a volunteer taking part in a clean-up operation. Not expecting treasure, the volunteer found something far better: a glimpse into a child’s mind from another country, frozen in time.
Inside was the note. Intact. Unbelievably, after all those years bobbing around the sea, it was still legible.
Rather than posting on social media or handing it over to a museum, the volunteer did something far more personal — they sent a postcard. Directly to Alaina.
That postcard, bearing a photo of the bottle and the island, made it all the way to her in Moray. Talk about full circle.
A Heartfelt Surprise That Left Her Speechless
Now in her 40s, Alaina told BBC Scotland she was “delighted” — stunned, really — to see the letter again. “I couldn’t believe it was still in such good condition,” she said.
You could see it in her face. In photos, she’s holding the postcard with both hands, smiling like someone who just got a hug from the past.
It wasn’t just about the bottle. It was the reminder of who she used to be. The kid with big dreams and a fizzy drink bottle.
Some Mail Takes Its Time — But It Gets There
Letters are supposed to be read. That’s what makes this so special. This one took the scenic route — through tides, storms, salt, sand, and years most people can’t even remember clearly.
Here’s what makes the story even better:
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The drink bottle was a Moray Cup — discontinued for a time, but iconic in Scotland’s northeast.
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Her handwriting was still visible — faded, but not gone.
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The postcard she received included a note from the Norwegian volunteer, written in English.
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The island where it was found is a known site for ocean debris — but this find was unlike any other.
That letter? It didn’t just cross an ocean. It outlasted cassette tapes, dial-up internet, flip phones, and the 90s altogether.
Messages in Bottles: Still Magical After All These Years
In an era of emails, instant messaging, and live streams, there’s something beautiful — and a little nostalgic — about an actual message in a bottle. They’re slow, uncertain, but full of hope.
They’ve been romanticised in songs and films, but most go unanswered. Some break. Some sink. Some never leave the shore.
But sometimes, just sometimes, they get found.
And when they do, it reminds us that the world’s not quite as disconnected as it sometimes feels.
