(CNN) — A multimillion-dollar power link between the United Kingdom and Ireland has been diverted after distraught “Harry Potter” fans pointed out that its planned route would cut through a beach memorial dedicated to a beloved character from the series, Dobby the house-elf.
The £430 million (around $580 million) Greenlink interconnector links the UK’s National Grid power transmission network to Ireland via a 125-mile cable between Ireland’s County Wexford on the southeast coast and Freshwater West, a beach in Wales’ southwest, where the death of Dobby was filmed for the Potter movie franchise.
Originally, the undersea cable — whose purpose is to share excess renewable energy, boost security and double the electricity transfer capacity between the two nations — would have disturbed the symbolic grave where Potter fans leave handwritten tributes to the magical creature on pebbles.
But after a BBC News interview about the operation troubled fans, a torrent of concerned calls caused Simon Ludlam, CEO of project manager Etchea Energy, to rethink the cable’s route, Ludlam revealed to the Energy Revolution podcast last week.
“We got hundreds of calls; I mean, hundreds of calls,” he said.
Ludlam admitted that the uproar initially puzzled him.
A colleague told him that “apparently, we’re going to go straight through Dobby’s grave.”
This meant little to Ludlam, who found himself saying, “Dobby, who’s Dobby? I don’t know Dobby?”
Even after his colleague explained, Ludlam remained confused. He told the podcast: “I said, ‘He’s a fictitious character in a fictitious book, the whole thing is fictitious, what are you talking about?’”
It was only when his colleague said, “No, it’s very, very serious,” that Ludlam grasped the situation.
His team then got to work rerouting the cable to avoid Dobby’s grave entirely.
“A lot of people were very happy about that, and the project is now going (ahead) and Dobby’s happy,” Ludlam joked.
Jack Nicholas is one of those relieved that Ludlam has taken the matter seriously.
Local to Pembrokeshire, the Welsh county that is home to Dobby’s memorial, Nicholas, 20, is on a mission to highlight all the area has to offer through videos posted online.
“Dobby’s Grave brings tourists from all around the world down to one of Pembrokeshire’s most impressive beaches,” Nicholas told CNN. “The memorial has rocks from places such as Italy, Australia and South Africa, showing how far people travel to see Dobby’s Grave.”
“Tourism is one of the most important industries in Pembrokeshire, and all of the visitors will contribute to the local businesses,” he added.
Tourism in Pembrokeshire contributes an estimated £604 million (roughly $815 million) to the local economy, with more than 6 million visitors supporting 23% of all local employment, according to Pembrokeshire County Council.
Sophie Pearce is a Welsh travel blogger who has visited Egypt, India and New Zealand on a quest to see magical, historic and bookish destinations. During the pandemic, however, she discovered she didn’t have to travel very far at all to find a touch of whimsy.
“Freshwater West is a magical, remote beach,” Pearce told CNN. “There are all sorts of painted rocks with sweet messages left for Dobby. I’ve been back many times since my first visit, and it never fails to fill me with wonder,” she added.
“Dobby’s Grave is a bittersweet place to visit for Potterheads as it’s where he spent his last heroic moments among friends,” Pearce, whose blog is called Third Eye Traveller, explained. “It would be a shame to destroy it,” she added.
But the reposition is not without issue, Ludlam said, as the cable now comes “quite close” to Bronze Age remains.
CNN has reached out to Greenlink Ireland and Etchea Energy for comment.
This isn’t the first time Potterheads have protected Dobby’s grave, which first appeared after the theatrical release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1” in November 2010, the instalment in which Dobby dies.
In 2022, the National Trust, the conservation charity that owns the land, agreed it could remain in place following a consultation but warned fans against leaving souvenirs.
Pilgrims to the site were in the habit of leaving a sock to honor the house-elf who, like all house-elves, was bound by magic to serve a wizarding family forever, or at least until a master presents them with an article of clothing, granting the elf freedom.
Visitors were urged to refrain from leaving socks because the beach was environmentally sensitive.
(The “Harry Potter” movie franchise is owned by Warner Bros., a unit of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)
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