Dobby is free, thanks to a sock and Harry Potter. Dobby has also sadly passed away, and the mock grave site created for the beloved house elf at a picturesque Welsh site has been a topic of a little debate for some time as large numbers of Harry Potter fans disrupt the natural conservation area with socks and other tributes to the fictional character. However, Dobby's mock grave is set to remain despite the controversy.
Local citizens had been asked to vote in an online survey whether the popular destination on Freshwater West beach on the Welsh coast should be allowed to remain or should be relocated.
Visitors are now being requested to take photos only and not to leave any objects at the grave site, the National Trust responsible for the area said after citizens voted to let the site remain for the time being.
"Items like socks, trinkets and paint chips from painted pebbles could enter the marine environment and food chain and put wildlife at risk," the officials said.
A scene in the adaptation of the "Harry Potter" books in which the beloved house elf is buried was filmed on Freshwater West beach in Wales, drawing countless tourists to the area.
The picturesque Pembrokeshire coastline was long a popular destination for tourists but has also attracted a steady flow of Harry Potter fans since the film, many of them scrawling "Here lies Dobby, a free elf" onto piles of stones in the area.
Others leave socks there in reference to how Harry Potter, in the films, was able to win the house elf’s freedom from slavery by tricking his cruel master into giving him a sock and thereby freeing him.
In addition to leaving a mark on the landscape and leaving waste behind, the area’s parking spaces and toilets are over capacity, the National Trust Wales had previously said.
The trust said it would now begin charging for parking and install more toilets. Any revenue is set to be used for the preservation of the coastal site.
