Outraged Harry Potter fans save Dobby’s “grave”

The Greenlink cable, connecting Wales and Ireland, was originally supposed to run through a memorial dedicated to the famous house-elf Dobby. The project, valued at 430 million pounds (approximately 750 million Canadian dollars), sparked a wave of outrage among Harry Potter fans, who rallied to have the route changed.

This memorial is located on Freshwater Beach. It was there that the scene of Dobby's death was filmed in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in 2011. Since then, pilgrims have been leaving pebbles inscribed with messages in tribute to the endearing, long-nosed creature. They also leave socks there, because, in the series, this item of clothing frees house-elves from their servitude. Approximately 75,000 people visit the site each year, according to the publication Science et vie.

It was an interview on the podcast The Energy Revolution—excerpts of which were reported by the BBC—that set the whole thing off. In the interview, Simon Ludlam, one of Greenlink's development managers, had detailed the route of the undersea cable, unaware of the storm it would unleash.

The announcement sparked hundreds of calls from outraged Harry Potter fans concerned about the threat to the memorial. In response, the project organizers altered the cable's route. “A lot of people were very happy about that,” says Simon Ludlam. “The project is now moving forward, and Dobby is happy.”

The undersea cable went into service in early 2025. It is approximately 200 kilometers long, 160 of which run beneath the Irish Sea. Greenlink can transmit up to 500 megawatts in both directions, depending on each country's needs—enough to power up to 380,000 households.

The National Trust, which owns Freshwater Beach, is asking visitors to stop leaving items at the memorial. The reason? The trinkets end up in the marine environment and threaten local wildlife. Gray seals and nesting birds along the Welsh coast are affected, as the beach is designated a conservation area.