Florence McLean, a 65-year-old guard on the Jacobite Steam Train, has shared an unusual incident that occurred at Mallaig train station in the Highlands. The event, which she described as "magical" and "bizarre," involved a seagull returning a £10 note she had lost approximately two weeks prior.
McLean explained that the money fell from her pocket while she was on duty at the station. She was unable to retrieve it immediately as the train was preparing to depart for Fort William. By the time she could check, the note was gone.
Weeks later, as the train returned to Mallaig, McLean observed a seagull flying overhead with a £10 note in its beak. The bird eventually dropped the note near the spot where McLean had originally lost it, allowing her to recover the cash.
"The £10 had flown out my pocket about two weeks previous," McLean stated. "I’d asked the guy at the ticket office if he could get it once the train went away, but he phoned me and said he couldn’t."
She recounted the moment she saw the seagull, saying, "Two weeks later, I’m standing in the platform, and a seagull flew over my head with the £10 in its mouth, and landed virtually in the same place where I dropped it."
McLean, who has worked on the Jacobite Steam Train for 31 years, called the experience the most unusual event of her career. "A couple of the workers were standing beside me, and said ‘look, there’s a seagull flying over with your ten pounds’," she recalled.
She added that the timing and location of the seagull's appearance were particularly striking, given her limited time at the platform each day. "The fact that it flew over there, when I’m only in Mallaig for a couple of hours a day at lunch time, and I’d only been standing there for five or ten minutes," she said. "I think it’s absolutely hilarious - it’s been so funny."
The Jacobite Steam Train is renowned for its appearance as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter film series.