York man's incredible sand sculptures - including Star Wars icons and giant crocs - go viral

Mark Lewis, 57, is passionate about sculpting sand into weird and wonderful landscapes, creatures and buildings - and says he loves 'bring a smile to people's faces.'

From Star Wars' Jabba The Hutt and R2D2, to Helm's Deep and Isengard from Lord of the Rings - "the bigger" the sand sculpture "the better" for Mark.

He said: "It's all about bringing joy into the world and inciting a smile on someone's face as they discover something unexpected surprise on the beach. I also love making things tall.

"The higher the sculpture the more impressive it is and we love it when people look at it thinking how on earth did they do that!"

The part-time church minister, who was born in Bristol but has lived in York since the age of 18, began his sand sculpting journey with his children back in 2010.

Mark would take his two boys, Simeon and Ethan, down to the coast, which would often be Weymouth beach, as they had a close friend living nearby.

He said: "We graduated in our thinking from the standard activities you do on a beach, like digging a big hole or making bucket sand castles, and started thinking about making our creations look like something definitive.

"Our first ever sand sculpture was a very poor attempt at Minas Tirith, from Lord of the Rings, then Helm's Deep - you get the idea!"

As his children were very into Star Wars, Mark explains how they then started to make Jabba The Hutt, Darth Vader's helmet and R2D2.

Gradually, the family got better at their endeavors - and Mark and Ethan developed "the sand sculpture bug".

He joked: "Me and the boys always liked trying to build something very unexpected that you wouldn't find on the beach - I mean, who is going expect to bump into a massive Jabba the Hutt whilst walking on a UK beach.

"One young kid who didn't know about Star Wars came up to us and said the T-rex has eaten too many MacDonald's. The sculptures got more and more ambitious, and what was just a family hobby has sort of gone out of hand and turned into a serious one."

Around the time of the pandemic, in 2019, Mark's sister bought him a days' sand sculpture training with a company called Sand In Your Eye - where he learnt professional techniques and practices as well as which tools to use and when.

After the professional training, Mark said it dramatically improved what he was able to do - and now he is filled with more confidence when preparing for the ultimate sand build, which is a rare practice in the UK.

Mark said: "It certainly is a niche hobby. There is not many professional sand sculptures in the country."

Though the fleeting nature of sand means his creations are not often left standing on the beach for long - only made worse by some beach dwellers, who sometimes kick down the sculptures.

Mark said: "It is incredibly rare on a British beach for something to not get kicked down. I have noticed that the better the sculpture, the more likely it is something will get left to the following day - but most of the time it'll get kicked over.

"I do not mind though - by its nature, sand is temporary, it is going to disappear and get washed away, so as long as I have photographs it's OK!"

Mark's recent interactive sand sculpture - of two massive crocs - recently went viral on social media, when people were taking pictures standing in his work and sharing them on facebook group 'I love Weymouth and Portland'.

After commenting in the group after being alerted by a friend, Mark said his pages "blew up", as he got 125,000 views on his videos in just two days.

He added: "It was windy during that week which is really problematic for sand sculptures because it dries the sand out and it's hard to do tall stuff. Crocs is an in joke within the family - but out of everything I've ever made on the beach, it's pretty random and funny the crocs are what blew up."

The longest time Mark has spent on a single sand sculpture on the beach is around nine hours - which was a massive Hogwarts.

"You are limited by the daylight and the tide, or both, so you have to account for that", explained Mark. "As a family we made the entire Hogwarts - it took like seven of us over the entire day."

Mark also recalled a project wherein he assisted the professional group Sand In Your Eye in Cambridge.

Jamie Wardley, the lead sculptor at Sand In Your Eye, was tasked with building King's College Chapel, and Mark was tasked with building The Bridge of Sighs over the river Cam.

The "incredibly intricate job" was the hardest he had ever done - and it took the pair three days.

He explained: "I had to build it in a shopping centre, and we had to carry all the sand and equipment into the building in buckets. It was tonnes of sand, and two massive vans filled with equipment.

"We did around three thirteen hour days. It was insane and very physical. Architecture is quite difficult to do as there's a lot of regularity to what you're sculpting - so it's a lot less forgiving if you make minor mistakes."

Mark admits he does enjoy the physical aspect of the work, though it can be tedious.

He explained: "I really enjoy getting outside and on the beach - but you are shoveling an awful lot of sand. When the tide is against you, there is lots of movement, carrying buckets of water and sand up and down.

"By the end of the week after making six sculpturers I was ready for a holiday. I remember trying to make a really tall candle, and it collapsed on me twice - it definitely happens."

Mark said although every piece of art he makes is different, the foundations for building is the same every time.

"You apply exactly the same principles whatever piece you are making," he explained. "For example, you always work top down! If you don't work like that you'll be destroying intricate detail you've created."

Mark believes he will continue with his hobby for many more years to come, as he loves creating his sculptures and interacting with people from all walks of life.

He added: "People ask a lot of questions, and I like showing other kids and parents how to do it and inspire others to have a go themselves. I'm not a professional - I started like anyone else doing bucket sand castles on the beach.

"Anybody can have a go and do more than they think.”