Greenlink has altered the route of a 430 million pound underwater power cable in the UK after Harry Potter fans protested its planned location. The Guardian reported that the 200-kilometer cable connecting the electrical grids of Great Britain and Ireland was originally scheduled to come ashore at Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire.
Freshwater West beach served as the burial location for Dobby the elf in the film adaptation of the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Greenlink project manager Simon Ludlam revealed the project plans during an interview with BBC News, leading to hundreds of angry phone calls from fans. Ludlam admitted he did not know who Dobby was at the time, but said he was told the issue was very, very serious.
Freshwater West Cable Route
Speaking on the Energy Revolution podcast, Ludlam said workers shifted the cable route by only a few meters to avoid the location fans consider sacred. The new route was laid next to Bronze Age burial sites, successfully preserving the fictional elf's grave. Landowner the National Trust has repeatedly asked visitors not to leave stones with messages stating that Dobby lies here, noting that the beach is an environmentally sensitive area.
In a separate discovery in the UK, a subway track inspector in Newcastle found an underground audio recording of The Hobbit near railway tracks. The worker discovered four audio cassettes containing a performance of the story by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
