The bay at Freshwater West is blessed with high dunes and a lovely sandy beach, however it comes with a sting. There are quicksands at low tide at the north end, and there is a strong undertow on the ebb tide, so visitors should exercise caution. At Little Furzenip, which lies halfway along the beach, there is a small thatched hut, a reminder of the days when seaweed was brought here and stored to be made into a Welsh delicacy called laver bread.
This spectacular bay has caught the attention of Hollywood on more than one occasion. In May 2009 the beach was taken over by the Harry Potter team, when filming took place for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The most striking prop was Dobby's Shell Cottage, which is seen in the film with the dunes as a backdrop. Then, just one month later in June 2009 the production crew of Ridley Scott's Robin Hood arrived and put on a dazzling display for any casual onlookers as they filmed the scene depicting a battle against French invaders with Robin Hood (Russell Crowe) leading his men into the fray. The scene was so massive that it involved 800 actors and 130 horses as well as dozens of the boats that were built for the filming.
Map of the area.
 | |
| Freshwater West - geograph.org.uk - 239022. Photo by Jeremy Owen, via Wikimedia Commons. |
No comments:
Post a Comment