Dobby's Grave – Castlemartin, Wales - Atlas Obscura

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Dobby's Grave

Castlemartin, Wales

Tucked among the sand dunes overlooking a Welsh beach, a real-life tribute to a fictional elf. 

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Freshwater West has been rated one of the best beaches in Wales. It is remote yet accessible, which makes it perfect to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery. It’s popular with families in the summer. And along the beach’s southwest walking trail, there is a pile of stones and old odd socks. With sand dunes and hills to one side of you and the lush blue ocean to the other, This is the grave of Dobby, a free elf.

Dobby’s death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows shocked many fans of the fictional film series so much that they managed to track down the exact film location and erect a shrine. (The beach was used as the filming location for Shell Cottage, but the small building has since been taken down.)

Fans travel from all over the world to visit and leave a stone or sock, however, residents feared the ecosystem would be harmed by all the objects that were left and demanded the shrine be removed. But after local environmental officials reviewed the site, it was decided the shrine could stay, as long as visitors no longer left socks or any other unnatural objects on the site.

Know Before You Go

From the car park, the grave is a 10-minute walk. It can easily be seen from the beach. Follow the series of walking trails towards a tall set of dunes. Dobby’s grave lies on the first series of dunes, overlooking the beach. 

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