Giant sand art on Blackpool beach is 'love letter' to times lost to Covid-19

The artwork, called 'Love Letter in the Sand', was created by beach-goers with the help of artists from sand art company Sand In Your Eye, commissioned by Carex.

Visitors and Blackpool residents young and old drew pictures and messages in the sand to their nearest and dearest, resulting in a beautiful piece of temporary artwork that was washed away by the incoming tide.

Craig Gridley said: "There was a team of four people from Sand In Your Eye who arrived on site just after 5am to start setting up. The template of the hands was finished by 9:30am when we invited passers-by to come and join in. There was some fantastic local engagement from people of all ages.

"There was a great response from passers-by especially the children we saw on the beach who were all keen to get involved. We’re absolutely thrilled with the end result and the images really speak for themselves."

Carex marketing director Megan Harrison said: “With many people opting to stay closer to home for their summer holidays, we wanted to champion the great British stay-cation as well as an iconic location, which is why we chose Blackpool for our sand art experience.

"Everyone has missed something over the last 18 months, so we want to encourage friends and families to get back together safely."

Another sand art installation, a 30m dolphin, was etched on St Annes beach on August 23 to promote Fylde Council’s ‘Take It, Don’t Leave It’ anti-littering message.

Coun Tommy Threlfall said: “The initiative, which has been ongoing throughout the summer, is one part of our wider council plans to work towards becoming carbon neutral and reduce the amount of plastic and other harmful waste in our borough and, notably, on our cherished beach.

“Any plastics that end up in the sea can, and all too often do, prove fatal when ingested by marine wildlife. The dolphin depicted in the artwork is just one of the species in danger and, as it was a sunny day, lots of beachgoers stopped to find out more about Richard’s artwork and the message behind it.

“It really resonated with Fylde visitors, and the aerial video serves to further spread this important message, show off the scale of the piece and highlight the beauty of our stunning coastline.

“The spectacular piece was created by renowned environmental artist Richard Shilling and the events of the day were captured by the talented Neal and Sophie from Fylde based North Film, so we extend our thanks to them for all their help.

“Our efforts in striving for more environmentally friendly operations, processes and procedures will continue in earnest in the coming weeks and months and we look forward to sharing more updates soon.”