1 There’s only one place to start when it comes to the looking at some of the best castles made of sand ever witnessed, and it’s not with Jimi Hendrix but fellow American and sculptor Ed Jarrett. Hailing from Maine, Ed’s 2013 effort at Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, is the world’s official tallest sandcastle at 38 feet 2 inches. “That one WILL be the record,” he proclaimed before undertaking the challenge, and right he was proved!
2 Perhaps the effort that gave him the bug when it comes to being king of the castles, in 2003 Jarrett built a 29 feet 3 inch tall sandcastle in his hometown of Maine, which toppled Finland’s previous world record.
3 In 2007, seven professional “sandcastlers” from Florida set up camp at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina for 10 days. During the Sun Fun Festival they created what was the tallest sandcastle in the world at 50 feet high, but the record attempt was disqualified due to the involvement of machinery. Still an impressive sandcastle though…
4 Despite this knock back, the folk at Myrtle Beach are also responsible for the longest sand sculpture in the world. 8,000 volunteers helped the Sandcastle Group compose an effort almost 17 miles long. Yes 17 miles!
5 Each year the Harrison Hot Springs resort in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada, hosts a sand sculpting competition. One entry back in 2007 depicted the famous story of Rapunzel in quite stunning fashion.
6 Steve Machell’s 2005 effort on Byron Bay beach, Australia is one for the romantics out there. This cutie pie proposed to his beloved Sarah through the medium of sandcastle, surely she said yes..!
7 Ed Jarrett’s 2013 world record sandcastle was built upon the ruins of a previous record attempt, which fell just short of success at 34 feet after a vibration from a bulldozer caused a 25-foot vertical fault line in the structure. However, the intention of the “Sandy Castle” was to raise money for charity following Hurricane Sandy’s devastation in October 2012.
8 At the Virginia Beach Neptune Festival in 2006, a stunning castle was erected that stood 37 feet and 9 inches tall. It made use of almost 1,400 tonnes of sand shaped during more than 80 hours of labour, and was a world record upon completion.
9 Germany hosts its annual Sandsation event in Berlin, which included in 2007 an exceptional effort by Martin Tulinius, viewed by around 100,000 people.
10 Boracay Island in the Philippines perhaps embodies all that is wondrous and holy about the feted sandcastle. A 2006 effort bears striking spires, sitting as it does on a quite simply stunning shoreline bathed in sunlight with turquoise waters framing the background.
11 American Michael Velling and John Gowdy of Italy produced a handy effort in the 2007 World Championships of Sand Sculpture, with their Here’s the Church offering that won the silver medal.
12 Alonso Gomes is a Colombian artist who’s honed his art travelling and decorating the beaches of South America, including Playa Blanca, near Cartagena de Indias, for some 30 years. His intricate sandcastles are perhaps not the tallest but they are fantastically detailed, and a spatula is high up on his list of preferred tools.
13 A final entry for the unstoppable Ed Jarrett, who set the second of his four world records in 2007 with his “Castle of the Sun”. It stood 31 feet 6 inches tall, and more than 1,000 volunteers allowed Jarrett to fulfil a vision that existed entirely in his mind: “There’s no sketching, it’s all in my head. You can’t really design anything until you know what the sand is going to do.”
14 If all this has made you want to stay in your very own sandcastle, head to Weymouth for a night at the world’s “largest, first and only sandcastle hotel made entirely of sand”. At 50 square feet and 13 feet high, 1,000 tons of sand was used in the construction of Dorset’s unique offering.