Welsh beach used for blockbuster movie filming
Freshwater West beach in Pembrokeshire Wales is busy currently, as the filming of a new Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett takes place. The beach was also used in May for the final film in the Harry Potter series with a giant ‘shell’ cottage built on the sands.
A 800 strong cast plus 130 horses, are due to shoot a major battle scene for the Robin Hood film made by Universal Pictures at the Pembrokeshire beach. A fleet of boats for the battle are currently being assembled in Pembroke Dock and temporarily moored off Dale.
Part of the film is based around the seaweed hut near the main car park at the beach. Although the beach remains open to the public there will be road closures with nearby residents issued passes.
Permission to use the site has been granted by a number of organisations including the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, the National Trust and Pembrokeshire Council. A joint statement said: “We recognise that the filming will inevitably cause some disruption in the area as well as great public interest.
“We hope people will help us to accommodate the film companies and we hope that filming on this scale will bring numerous benefits to the local economy, both during filming and following through knock-on tourism spend.
“While it is difficult to quantify it is estimated in the region of £1m, including temporary employment, repeat visits by crews and cast, raising the profile of the area and use of local services – from food to vehicle hire, from laundry services to security.”
The park authority said it had worked with Universal Pictures to protect the sand dunes and beach. “The routes for access to the beach have been chosen carefully and fencing is in place to direct people,” it said. “Facility bases for the film crews have been selected outside of any Sites of Special Scientific Interest.”
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Tags: Freshwater West, Harry Potter, Pembrokeshire, Robin Hood
June 16th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Do you have any idea why the film is being filmed on a beach? I though Robin Hood was the scourge of in-land forestry in the East Midlands.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Welcome back David,
No idea I’m afraid!
June 16th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
I was just doing some reading about Robin Hood and it appears there are some references to him taking part in a battle on a beach when he returned from Jerusalem. Although I can’t find much about it.
June 26th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Because this isn’t the Robinhood you’re thinking of. This is that big media Robinhood that will do anything to appeal to audiences to drive money to the rich.
June 27th, 2009 at 8:34 am
The Robin Hood theme comes to life when the Pembroke poor take from the rich movie makers in their times of economic hardship. Very apt!
July 5th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Its great to see British areas used for filming, as normally we lose out to more exotic locations abroad. We should do more to attract films to our shores. I guess the best way would be to release more good films ourselves!
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