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Shell out on Harry Potter's house

Friday, May 08, 2009

Catherine Deshayes

In a huge boost for Pembrokeshire tourism and much to the delight of locals, the remote Freshwater Beach has a new building - the magical Shell Cottage, which will appear in the final Harry Potter film, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'...

Beachcombers were mystified when a small cottage made from old stone and sea shells sprung up on the dunes of Freshwater West Beach in Pembrokeshire.

Little did they know there were looking at a house which is about to be immortalised on the silver screen for the final film in the meteorically successful Harry Potter franchise.

Filming at Shell Cottage, which features in chapter 25 of the seventh novel, will take place between May 11^th and May 15^th and will see author JK Rowling's famous characters come to life in Wales. Stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson - who play Harry, Ron and Hermione - will spend several days filming at the cottage.

Residents hope the influx of stars will give local businesses a much needed boost. Meanwhile, more funding to help boost heritage tourism across Wales has been granted.

The Welsh Assembly has announced that a new project to boost the contribution tourism makes to the Welsh economy has been launched with £19 million.

Both the EU and Welsh Government are chipping into the project, which is due to benefit tourist sites across the valleys and north west Wales.

The tourism sector is to be expanded, with more tours, trails and packages on offer at many Welsh heritage sites.

Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones said, "Tourism is an extremely important part of our economy, contributing more than £3 billion a year to the Welsh economy.

"I welcome this further investment in Welsh tourism," he added.

Back to Harry, and the National Park Authority has dispelled any fears that the filming could damage the beach.

A Spokesman said, "We recognise that the filming will inevitably cause some disruption in the area as well as great public interest.

"The beach itself and the coast path will however remain open to the public throughout this period and we are working with the film company and all the other organisations involved to ensure that the path and the beach are respected during this time," added the Spokesman.

Pembrokeshire is certainly enjoying its 15 minutes of fame this year - as well as the Harry Potter film, the new Robin Hood movie is also to be filmed in the area.