The £430 million Greenlink undersea interconnector between County Wexford and Freshwater West was rerouted after fans protested that the original path would disturb a beach memorial to Dobby the house-elf. Etchea Energy received hundreds of calls after media coverage and redesigned the route to spare the informal "Dobby's Grave." Locals say the memorial draws international visitors and supports Pembrokeshire's tourism economy, though the new alignment now approaches Bronze Age archaeological remains, creating fresh heritage concerns.
£430M Greenlink Cable Rerouted After Fans Rally To Save Dobby’s Beach Memorial
The memorial for Dobby on Freshwater West beach in Wales has been saved from destruction. - Matthew Horwood/Getty Images
A multimillion-pound undersea power link between Britain and Ireland has been rerouted after fans raised concerns that the planned corridor would cut through a beach memorial to Dobby the house-elf from the "Harry Potter" films.
The £430 million Greenlink interconnector will connect the UK National Grid to Ireland via a roughly 125-mile (200 km) cable between County Wexford on Ireland’s southeast coast and Freshwater West, a beach in southwest Wales where the filmed scene of Dobby’s death appears in the franchise. The project is intended to share surplus renewable energy, strengthen grid security and roughly double electricity transfer capacity between the two countries.
Following a BBC News segment, Etchea Energy — the project manager — received a flood of concerned calls about the original route crossing the informal memorial known as “Dobby’s Grave,” a symbolic pile of pebbles and handwritten notes left by fans. Etchea CEO Simon Ludlam told the Energy Revolution podcast that the company took the calls seriously and revised the undersea route to avoid the site.
“We got hundreds of calls; I mean, hundreds of calls,” Ludlam said, adding that at first he did not appreciate the significance until colleagues explained the fan reaction. After reconsideration, the cable alignment was altered, he said, and the project proceeded with the memorial left intact.
Local residents and visitors welcomed the decision. Jack Nicholas, a 20-year-old content creator from Pembrokeshire, told CNN that Dobby’s memorial attracts international visitors who often contribute painted stones or pebbles from countries such as Italy, Australia and South Africa.
Dobby in action in the 2010 movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. - Warner Bros/Everett Collection
Pembrokeshire County Council estimates tourism contributes about £604 million (roughly $815 million) to the local economy, with more than 6 million visitors supporting around 23% of local jobs — highlighting the economic as well as cultural importance of preserving popular local sites.
Welsh travel blogger Sophie Pearce (Third Eye Traveller) described Freshwater West as a "magical, remote beach" where painted rocks and messages left for Dobby create a bittersweet pilgrimage for "Potter" fans. Conservation bodies, however, have cautioned against leaving items such as socks and other souvenirs because the beach is environmentally sensitive.
Etchea’s revised route is not without trade-offs. Ludlam acknowledged the new alignment brings the cable "quite close" to Bronze Age archaeological remains, introducing a different set of heritage and regulatory sensitivities that will need careful management.
The National Trust, which owns the land at Freshwater West, allowed the memorial to remain following a 2022 consultation but urged visitors not to leave objects that could harm the environment. CNN contacted Greenlink Ireland and Etchea Energy for comment.
The "Harry Potter" film franchise is owned by Warner Bros., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. Zoe Sottile contributed to reporting.
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