'Here lies Dobby, a free elf': Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe dig the grave on the set of Harry Potter. Photo / Philip Ramey, Getty Images
'Here lies Dobby, a free elf': Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe dig the grave on the set of Harry Potter. Photo / Philip Ramey, Getty Images
On a beach just off a lonely B-Road through the UK countryside, The Search for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them takes a dark turn.
"Here lies Dobby, a free elf," reads the inscription on the tombstone to the famous fictional creature.
In Wales, Harry Potter fans can nowpay their respects at the site made famous by a scene in the Wizarding films.
This beach in Pembrokeshire is where Dobby the House Elf, faithful servant to Harry Potter, met his untimely end and was buried in the final installment of the books. Freshwater West was the filming location for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and the fictional grave site is even more memorable for its stunning coastal beauty.
The beach also served as the filming location for Shell Cottage. Photo / Getty Images
The same beach also served as the filming location for Shell Cottage from Order of the Phoenix, which has since been dismantled.
Since the eight-part series of Harry Potter films wrapped up in 2011, it has put a number of filming locations on the sight-seers map. The Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland has become a must visit destination for fans of the book, where much of the Hogwarts Express scenes were filmed, and there is a constant stream of Harry Potter fans in Kings Cross station waiting for their photo to be taken at the barrier between platforms 10 and 9.
There is a constant stream of Harry Potter Fans in Kings Cross between platforms 10 and 9. Photo / Getty Images
However, unlike other memorable filming locations from JK Rowling's wizarding saga, Freshwater West is both easily accessible and blissfully quiet.
Until recently a fan-made gravestone for the faithful elf marked the spot. There was some outcry when the stone was removed by park officials earlier this year, but the site is still marked by stones and socks left by visitors.
However if you need a little extra help locating the grave, it is in the dunes closest to the beach just along from the south-west walking trail. Armed with a couple of stills from the film, you'll have no trouble finding it.
In South West Wales
Arthurian Pembrokeshire has its fair share of legends, long before Harry Potter. Along with some more modern-day myths as well.
Pembrokeshire's Stack Rocks. Photo / Getty Images
St David's Head, the medieval fortified cathedral which repelled Viking invaders.
Beyond Freshwater West, the rugged West Wales Coastal Path has plenty of breathtaking seaside views at Stack Rocks and Castleman common.
The latter, which functions as an army training range, has seen a lot stranger than fictional wizards and elves: in 1977 it was the place of the Broad Haven UFO sighting.
