Tuesday, August 11, 2026
When Fiction intrudes on real life
Metro News reports that Harry Potter fans have proven there’s clearly power in numbers, as their joint outrage forced the diversion of a multi-million-pound energy project.
The paper says that plans for a £430million Greenlink interconnector to carry solar and wind power to Ireland from the UK sparked fury from die-hard fans of JK Rowling’s books and their movie adaptations, who objected to the pipeline coming ashore at Freshwater West Beach in Pembrokeshire, which has famously become a mecca for Potterheads, as it’s where Dobby died and was buried:
The beloved house elf’s final scenes came in the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, with fans immortalising the character by leaving illustrated pebbles and socks to mark his resting place.
So, upon learning of the pipeline plans and the apparent disruption they would cause to the beach’s dunes where Harry (played by Daniel Radcliffe on-screen) buried the creature, Potter fanatics took action.
The result was ‘hundreds’ of phone calls to then-project director Simon Ludlam and his team following Ludlam’s interview on BBC Wales about the development, where he revealed permission had been secured from local authorities and landowners.
Speaking on the Energy Revolution podcast, Ludlam, who was at the helm from 2017 to 2019 and whose firm, Etchea Energy, advised, recalled how concerned and furious fans feared the cable going ‘straight through Dobby’s grave’.
The backlash became so intense that it led to him rerouting the interconnector away from the beach, keeping the grave intact.
‘My colleague, Tom, who works in permitting, said, “Simon, we’re going to have to respond to these calls”,’ Ludlam said.
‘And I said, “Well, Tom, I’m super busy.” And he goes, “No, no, we really have to respond to this”.’
When told of the anger, his initial reaction was: ‘Dobby? Who’s Dobby?’
His co-worker then insisted it was a ‘very, very serious matter’.
‘So we got back with the planners and discussed exactly how to reroute the cable so we wouldn’t go any more into Dobby’s grave.’
With the issue eventually resolved, the Greenlink interconnector opened last April.
At 190km (118 miles) long, the 500 MW high-voltage direct current runs a power cable between County Wexford in Ireland and Pembrokeshire in Wales.
It has the power for 380,000 homes.
This isn’t the first time that Dobby’s grave has found itself under threat.
In 2022, National Trust Cymru floated the idea of removing it after launching a survey about looking after the landscape.
Two of its questions focused on the Dobby memorial, asking respondents whether it should be removed or transferred.
It was decided eight months later that the tribute could stay, but the Trust issued a reminder to tourists visiting the popular spot, urging them not to leave socks, which are a reference to how, in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry fooled Dobby’s then-master, Lucius Malfoy, into handing one, which freed him from enslavement.
Well, at least the developer listened to public opinion.
