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When Star Wars took over a Scottish hydro scheme

Scene from AndorImage source, Lucasfilm Ltd & TM/Disney
Image caption,

E锘縫isode six of Star Wars series, Andor, was filmed in Argyll

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The makers of Star Wars series Andor have described filming in Scotland as a highlight of the show's on-location shooting.

S锘縞enes for episode six, The Eye, were filmed in and around the Cruachan hydro-electric scheme near Dalmally in Argyll.

P锘縭oduction designer Luke Hull said the renewable energy site, with its dam and underground power station, had given the makers of the Disney series the look they had been aspiring to capture.

H锘縠 added: 鈥淚f you look at the dam, it looks like Darth Vader鈥檚 mask."

Cruachan was opened in 1965 and involves a 316m (1,037ft), 46m (15ft) long dam.

I锘縯s power station is聽housed within a huge cavern dug out inside the mountain Ben Cruachan and gives the hydro-electric scheme its nickname, "Hollow Mountain".

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

T锘縣e Cruachan hydro-electric scheme was officially open in the 1960s

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

锘緼 photograph taken inside the Hollow Mountain hydro-power in 1974

Andor is a prequel to the 2016 Star Wars spin-off film Rogue One and follows main character Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna. The first of its 12 episodes was shown in September.

H锘縰ll, who also worked on HBO's TV mini series Chernobyl, said: "A highlight of on-location shooting was traveling the production to the Cruachan Dam."

Image source, Lucasfilm Ltd & TM/Disney
Image caption,

T锘縣e hydro scheme and surrounding landscape were used to represent a planet in the Star Wars stories

Image source, Lucasfilm Ltd & TM/Disney
Image caption,

A锘縩dor's production team were intrigued with the idea of creating a planet in a Scottish landscape

Image source, Lucasfilm Ltd & TM/Disney
Image caption,

Andor is a prequel to the 2016 spin-off film Rogue One

H锘縰ll said the production crew had been intrigued with the idea of creating a planet in Scotland's mountains.

H锘縠 said: "So many of the聽Star Wars聽planets are desert or ice, so it was interesting to find a tangible landscape that could form a different version of a planet.鈥

Cruachan's owners, Drax, made a series of charitable donations after Disney used the site.

F锘縰nds went towards a new vehicle for Oban Mountain Rescue Team and creating a rural defibrillator network with community councils.

A donation was made to support the ongoing maintenance and restoration of St Conans Kirk, a historic visitor attraction in the Argyll village of Lochawe.