Record Turnout For Sand Sculpture Contest

A record number of people took part in the annual sand sculpture contest,on Clachtoll Beach in North West Sutherland which was organised by The Highland Council’s Countryside Rangers based in Assynt.

The contest which has now been running for 10 years attracted 88 entrants from around Assynt and Ullapool as well as visitors from around the world, including the Netherlands and the Philippines.

Among some of the creatures created in the sand were a gigantic edible crab, a lobster, dolphins, whales, sea creatures, mermaids, castles, volcanoes, boats and other mythical and fictional characters.

The Council’s Senior Countryside Ranger Andy Summers said:  “We were lucky to have a really bright sunny day and there was a antastic atmosphere amongst all the participants working away on the white shell sand with families standing by and spectators admiring the digging, sculpting and creative skills.  All the sculptures were great and we had a very difficult job in selecting winners for the various categories.”

Prizes were donated by The Assynt Tourism Group and volunteers from the RNLI provided a BBQ for the spectators and participants before the winners were announced.

The RNLI Lochinver branch raised £797.06 with BBQ sales and souvenirs and donated £100 to the Lochinver Wildlife Watch for children 8-14 years.