A 125-mile underwater power cable route has been changed to avoid a symbolic memorial for Dobby, the beloved house-elf from the Harry Potter series, following protests from fans.

Freshwater West beach in Wales is closely associated with Harry Potter fans. It was used to film Dobby’s death scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Fans later created a symbolic grave for the character at the site, leaving stones bearing handwritten messages.

The memorial was in the path of the proposed Greenlink Interconnector, a £430 million project designed to connect the electricity grids of Ireland and Great Britain.

The project involves laying an underwater cable stretching about 125 miles from County Wexford in Ireland to Freshwater West in Wales.

When fans discovered that the original route would pass over Dobby’s memorial, they began contacting the project developers.

Simon Ludlam, chief executive of Echea Energy, the company managing the project, said the team received “hundreds of phone calls” after the issue was highlighted in a BBC report.

At first, Ludlam said he did not understand why the location was so important.

“A colleague said, ‘Apparently, we’re going over Dobby’s grave,’” he recalled.

Ludlam said his initial response was: “Who’s Dobby? I don’t know Dobby.”

Even after learning about the character, he initially struggled to understand the reaction.

“I said, ‘But he’s a fictional character, a fictional character from a fictional book. It’s all fictional. What are you talking about?’” he said.

But after his colleagues explained the significance of the site to fans and the local community, the project team began working on an alternative route that would avoid the memorial.

“Lots of people are very happy about it,” Ludlam said. “The project is moving forward and Dobby is happy.”

The decision has also been welcomed by local residents and tourism advocates.

Jack Nicholas, a 20-year-old Pembrokeshire resident who promotes local attractions online, said Dobby’s memorial draws visitors from around the world to one of the area’s most scenic beaches.

“People come from Italy, Australia and South Africa and leave stones,” he said, adding that the site demonstrates how far fans are willing to travel to visit the location.

Tourism is a major contributor to Pembrokeshire’s economy. According to Pembrokeshire County Council, the sector contributes an estimated £604 million a year to the local economy, with more than six million visitors supporting around 23% of local employment.

Welsh travel blogger Sophie Pearce has also highlighted the emotional significance of the memorial. Having travelled to countries including Egypt, India and New Zealand, Pearce said she discovered a small piece of the fictional world she loved at Freshwater West during the pandemic.

“Freshwater West is a magical, peaceful beach,” she said. “There are colourful stones with sweet messages for Dobby. I’ve returned many times since my first visit and it amazes me every time.”

For Potter fans, she said, the site represents both happiness and sadness because it marks Dobby’s final heroic moment.

The new cable route, however, has created another challenge. Ludlam said it now passes close to archaeological remains dating back to the Bronze Age.

The campaign to protect Dobby’s memorial is not the first time fans have fought to preserve the site. Freshwater West became a popular destination after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was released in November 2010.

In 2022, the National Trust, which manages the land, decided to retain the memorial following a consultation, while asking visitors not to leave memorabilia behind.

Fans have traditionally left socks at the site in tribute to Dobby. In the Harry Potter story, a house-elf is freed from serving a wizarding family when the wizard gives the elf an item of clothing.

However, because Freshwater West is an environmentally sensitive site, visitors are now being asked not to leave socks, stones or other objects behind.

For now, at least, Dobby’s symbolic resting place has been spared — even if the power cable has had to take a different route.