Harry Potter fans force £430m undersea cable to reroute around Dobby's 'grave'
Campaigning by Harry Potter fans led planners of a UK-Ireland power cable to move its route in Wales to avoid the fictional site where the elf Dobby was buried on screen. The project manager says the new path passed close to genuine Bronze Age burial remains.
The company behind the £430m Greenlink undersea power cable linking the UK's National Grid to Ireland has rerouted the project in Wales to avoid a spot fans regard as the 'grave' of the Harry Potter character Dobby.
Dobby was laid to rest on Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Fans have continued visiting the beach to leave stones marked 'Here Lies Dobby', despite requests from landowner the National Trust to stop, since the site is ecologically sensitive.
Fans react to TV segment
The 125-mile (200km) cable connecting to County Wexford in Ireland was originally due to run underground through the site of the fictional grave. Project manager Simon Ludlam told the Energy Revolution podcast that fans learned of the plan after he pointed out the cable's path at Freshwater West during a BBC interview. Once the segment aired, the company received hundreds of calls.
Ludlam said he initially did not know who Dobby was and was confused when a colleague told him the cable would run straight through Dobby's grave. He said he responded that Dobby was a fictional character from a fictional book, but the colleague insisted the matter was very serious.
New route found
The company brought in planners to devise an alternative route avoiding the supposed grave. Ludlam said many people were pleased with the outcome and the project is now proceeding. He noted, however, that the new route passed relatively close to genuine Bronze Age remains, including urns linked to human burials.
