Top tips on how to turn out the perfect holiday castle

The tuition is being accompanied by a step-by-step guide on the best way to build a castle.

Produced by holiday company Butlins, the guide recommends sandcastle builders go for damp sand, a dry bucket and plenty of patting down.

The guide has been developed by sand sculptor Mark Anderson who later this month will be bringing examples of his work to the three Butlins resorts where the sandcastle classes are being held – Skegness in Lincolnshire – Minehead in Somerset, and Bognor Regis in West Sussex.

The tips for the perfect sandcastle are firstly to use damp sand – scrape the dry top layer of sand away to get to the wetter layer underneath.

You also need a dry bucket and the best way to get a completely dry bucket is to put dry sand into your bucket, swirl it around and tip it out again.

The next piece of advice is to layer and pat. The damp sand should be added to the bucket, but the trick is to add it layer by layer making sure you pat it down each time before adding the next. You also need to turn your bucket completely over on a flat spot and then tap the bucket on the side, but not the top.

To secure a flag on top, you need to place a flag right in the centre of your castle and not near the edge, otherwise you risk cracking the sand.