WALES has seen its fair share of stars come from our lands including the likes of Hollywood A-lister Christian Bale, who hails from Pembrokeshire. But over the years a number of Hollywood stars have also descended on our beautiful nation to film some of their blockbusters.

A number of these films have been either fully or partially filmed along the Wales Coast Path, including in various Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion locations.

Here we take a look at some of the many blockbuster films that were shot in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.

Moby Dick

Western Telegraph: Gregory Peck filmed Moby Dick in Fishguard

This is a popular one that many people across Fishguard still recall to this day. The 1956 retelling of Herman Melville’s classic 1851 novel Moby Dick was filmed around Fishguard, Cemaes Head and Ceibwr Bay and saw A-listers including Gregory Peck and Orson Welles spend their time filming across the region and meeting local fans.

Die Another Day

The 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day was the 20th film in the series and featured a star-studded cast including Pierce Brosnan as 007, Judi Dench as M, Halle Berry as Jinx and Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost.

The film’s steamy end of movie scene – set on a beach in North Korea – was actually filmed at Penbryn Beach in Llandysul!

The Edge of Love

The 2008 romantic classic The Edge of Love tells the story of famous Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and featured a star-studded cast including Kiera Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys.

The stars were seen filming all across west Wales including Dylan Thomas’ hometown of Laugharne, Tenby and New Quay where he famously based his Under Milk Wood play.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

Western Telegraph: Filming the Dobby burial scene at Freshwater West for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

In 2010, the penultimate film in the Harry Potter series – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 was released to the world and featured what is arguably one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the franchise – the death of Dobby the house elf (it doesn’t count as a spoiler when its been out for more than a decade).

Dobby dies on a picturesque beach with a lovely little thatch cottage nearby and this beach – although not mentioned in the film where it is – is Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire. The cottage was specially built for filming and taken down afterwards, but to this day there remains a shrine to Dobby towards the south, with hundreds of stones with messages and some socks decorating the wooden cross that was placed there (although his actual burial site in the film was further north in the sand dunes). People are requested to not add to the shrine however due to concerns of pollution in the water from the decorated pebbles and socks not being biodegradable.

During filming for the scenes, the cast included the three main characters – Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley – as well as some of the supporting actors including Verne Troyer, Domhnall Gleeson and Evanna Lynch.

Hinterland/Y Gwyll

Now this next entry is not a movie but is a series that ran from 2013 to 2016. The main base for the series is Aberystwyth but the show has been filmed across the Wales Coast Path, mainly in Ceredigion at Ynyslas Sand Dunes near Cardigan Bay, various locations just outside Tregaron and even at Llanybydder’s former boarding school. The series saw Richard Harrington star as DCI Tom Mathias and a host of Welsh names taking on various roles throughout the series’ three seasons.

Robin Hood

Western Telegraph: Part of the scene from 2010's Robin Hood was filmed on Freshwater West

In 2009, Hollywood A-lister Russell Crowe and hundreds of fellow cast members descended on Freshwater West to film the 2010 movie Robin Hood which saw Crowe in the titular role and his Lady Marian played by Cate Blanchett.

The beach played host to Crowe during a big budget battle scene with the lead actor on a white stallion. Despite the big budget – which included hiring members of the local rowing clubs to man the longboats, it did not all go smoothly as two of said boats ran aground but a crew from Neyland were able to save the day.