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Stormtroopers took to the surf in Gloucestershire as the local tourism board hopes to ride the wave of Star Wars mania and bring tourists to the English county where scenes from the next film installment were shot.

Stormtroopers hit the waves at the invitation of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism Association, as part of the next Star Wars installment was filmed there.

Stormtroopers hit the waves at the invitation of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism Association, as part of the next Star Wars installment was filmed there. Image by Dean Forest Wye Valley

The Wye Valley and Forest of Dean tourism board brought in Stormtroopers to promote the site as a filming location for Star Wars Episode VII: the Force Awakens. The board has designed a new TV and movie trail through the area, which has also been a shooting location for Doctor Who and Harry Potter. A website for the trail will go live on 16 December, according to the BBC.

Stormtroopers hit the waves at the invitation of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism Association, as part of the next Star Wars installment was filmed there.

Stormtroopers hit the waves at the invitation of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism Association, as part of the next Star Wars installment was filmed there. Image by Dean Forest Wye Valley

The Forest of Dean is the oldest oak forest in England, and supposedly inspired the forests in the works of JRR Tolkien. The tidal bore on the River Severn is a surge wave caused by the tide travelling up a river and is popular with river surfing enthusiasts.

While the English tourism board is looking to capitalize on the Star Wars tourism draw, not all filming locations have been so well received. The latest film was also shot in Ireland on Skellig Michael, a Unesco World Heritage site, but that has proved to be controversial.

Skellig Michael.

Skellig Michael. Image by ash-crow / CC BY-SA 2.0

Skellig Michael was occupied by monks between the sixth and 13th centuries, but is now home to seabird populations. Plans are already in place for crews to return to film the next Star Wars movie, but with those plans have come concerns for the wildlife on the island.

While the government has indicated the filming will be good for tourism, currently only 180 people are allowed to visit the island per day. Representatives for An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, have expressed concerns about how the island could deal with increased tourism, reports The Guardian.

The Irish Times says that BirdWatch Ireland also has expressed concern about the impact of filming on the breeding populations on the idea.

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