Tide turns for castles made of sand

But the art of building sandcastles appears to be under threat from not just the advancing tides.

A campaign is now under way to revive the pastime on the nation’s beaches among youngsters more obsessed with playing on computer consoles than with a bucket and spade.

English Heritage has commissioned a group of professional sand sculptors to help out, who yesterday created five replica castles on the beach of Yorkshire’s most popular seaside resort, Scarborough.

As well as the town’s own ancient monument which towers above on the cliff-top, the carvings included some of English Heritage’s most prized coastal attractions.

The sculptures were created by the Bradford-based Sand In Your Eye group, led by Jamie Wardley who brought in an 11-strong team to help in yesterday’s eight-hour effort.

Among them was Dan Glover, a world champion sand sculptor who is originally from America and travelled to the Yorkshire coast from Portugal, where he now lives.

Among the other replicas were Dover Castle in Kent and Pendennis Castle in Cornwall as well as Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire and Framlingham Castle in Suffolk.

While Scarborough Castle was clearly visible from Scarborough’s South Bay where the sculptures were built, the other monuments were copied from aerial shots and photographs downloaded from the internet.

Mr Wardley, 33, who began sand sculpting in 1998, said: “There is a real art to sand sculpting, but everyone can have a go.

“It is great fun, but it is sad to think that many children are not that interested in coming down to the beach these days with their bucket and spade.”

Despite the worry that techno-savvy children in the 21st century are missing out on building their own sandcastles, Yorkshire offers some of the best beaches to pursue the pastime.

Mr Wardley claimed the sand on Scarborough’s own beaches is perfect, with a fine grain not blighted by gravel to give a particularly clean cut in sculptures.

“Yorkshire has some great locations to create sandcastles,” he said. “Scarborough is particularly good, it’s a real Mecca for sand sculpting but there are other places like Filey which have particularly good sand to use.”

The sculptures which were created yesterday were up to 5ft tall, and used about 30 tonnes of sand, although they were by no means the largest which Mr Wardley’s team has created.

He was responsible for a sand sculpture in Bradford in 2009 which depicted Charles Darwin and was almost 15ft high, and his largest was of a Mayan temple, built in Portugal six years ago at a towering 26ft tall.

English Heritage is hoping to use the digital age to promote the sandcastle building skills and has today launched a Facebook competition as part of its efforts.

Holidaymakers are being encouraged to build a sandcastle in the shape of one of the heritage organisation’s 98 castles before posting a photograph of their creation online.

A senior historian for English Heritage, Paul Pattison, said: “English Heritage cares for almost 100 castles as part of the National Heritage Collection.

“Castles played many roles in our history and are an iconic element in our landscape.”

Tips to create a winning entry include employing the right equipment such as spoons, a plastic knife and kitchen spatula, and using as much water as possible to help stabilise the sandcastle.

The experts also recommend carving the castle from the top down.

Facebook followers will be able to vote for their favourite picture, with a weekly child and adult winner each receiving free family entry to an English Heritage castle of their choice.

When the competition closes at the end of August, the best overall junior entry will win a party for themselves and 11 friends at an English Heritage castle, complete with food, games and party bags.

The winner of the adult category will be able to enjoy a sleepover at Dover Castle in Kent, Pendennis Castle in Cornwall or Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire or a castle ghost tour.

The competition is free to enter, and photos can be posted at www.facebook.com/englishheritage. Tips on building can also be downloaded from the Facebook page or at www.english-heritage.org.uk/sandcastles.