Harry Potter fans are warned not to leave socks at Dobby’s grave on a Wales beach

‘Harry Potter’ fans are urged not to leave socks on at the memorial site for Elf Dobby’s home at Freshwater West Beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

The location is where the production of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1” led to the filming of Dobby’s death scene. In the Harry Potter novels, Dobby dies in Harry’s arms and tells him that the beach is a “nice place to be with friends.”

After “Harry Potter” fans erected a monument to Dobby on set, many fans were inspired to visit Freshwater West Beach and leave socks on location. The socks are a tribute to Dobby, who was freed from owed slavery after his evil owner, Lucius Malfoy, was tricked into gifting him a sock. Dobby wears the sock until his death.

“Harry Potter” fans left so many socks at the Dobby Memorial that it became an environmental concern for Freshwater West Beach. Environmental officials from the National Trust Wales conservation charity conducted an eight-month review of the site and decided to allow the memorial to remain, though a warning has now been issued to the public.

“The Dobby memorial will remain at Freshwater West for the near term for the public to enjoy,” the National Trust Wales said in a statement. “The Trust is asking visitors to only take photos when visiting the memorial to help protect the wider landscape.”

The National Trust Wales noted in its review results that “items such as socks, ornaments, and paint chips from painted gravel can enter the marine environment and food chain and endanger wildlife.”

“While we are pleased that so many people would like to visit, we have to balance the popularity of the site with the impacts on the sensitive nature of the beach and the broader environment, and pressure on surrounding facilities and roads” with National Trust Wales, added.