Harry Potter Fans Saved Dobby's "Grave" from a Power Cable
The route of a multi-million-dollar energy project between the UK and Ireland was changed after protests from Harry Potter fans.
Sometimes the fate of a major infrastructure project can be changed not only by engineers or even environmental activists, but by... House-elf fans. This is precisely what happened with the Greenlink project, which is intended to connect the UK and Irish power grids.
The original route of the high-voltage cable, costing approximately £430 million, ran through Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was here that Dobby's death scene was filmed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.
After the film's release, fans turned the site into an unofficial memorial to their beloved character. A plaque bearing Dobby's name appeared on the beach, and visitors began leaving stones with inscriptions and socks—a nod to the famous story of Dobby's freedom.
When fans discovered that the route of the future cable would pass directly through the memorial, a veritable magical storm erupted.
"Dobby's Grave is in Danger"
According to Simon Ludlum, CEO of the consulting firm Etchea Energy, the project team received hundreds of calls from outraged fans.
At first, project representatives were perplexed by the situation: after all, they were talking about a memorial to a fictional character.
However, after discussions with planners, they decided to adjust the route so that the cable would not pass through the site that fans consider to be Dobby's "grave."
Thus, one of the region's largest energy projects had to be partially reconfigured due to fans' feelings about the character from the popular book and film franchise.
Greenlink is approximately 190 kilometers of high-voltage cable infrastructure running between Ireland and the United Kingdom. The project launched in 2025 and is designed to supply power to approximately 380,000 homes.
Now the power link will be operational, and Dobby's memorial will remain in place.
Magic, it turns out, isn't just about Hogwarts: sometimes a few hundred phone calls from fans are enough to force engineers to re-route a cable worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
Dobby is free. And, apparently, protected from the power infrastructure.
