ADRIAN Gray has taken our fascination for stones to a whole new level and developed a new art form using precariously balanced rocks and fossils from Dorset’s Jurassic coastline.

Carefully, beautifully, he creates series of sculptures that delight the eye and bamboozle the mind.

Delicately, almost impossibly poised, they can’t be for real … can they?

“I haven’t met anyone that hasn’t had a reaction to them,” said Adrian, who lives in a secluded and tranquil cottage on the Rousden Estate near Lyme Regis. “People find so many different things in the shapes. Some marvel at them, others say they are calming. The smaller the point of contact between the two stones, the more beautiful the sculpture is to look at.

He added: “The great thing about the cliffs is that every time there is a storm, they change and offer me up a whole new palette of rocks to work with.”

Adrian took up rock balancing seven years ago while recovering from a severe infection contracted while leading an expedition in Madagascar, and which still afflicts him from time to time.

To help aid his recovery he decided on a complete change of lifestyle, and moved down from London.

“I spent time on the beach and became intrigued by the idea of balancing the stones. It needs a lot of concentration, which takes your mind off all your problems. If you have flat stones, it’s not difficult to get the balance. Sometimes you can do a sculpture that looks fantastic, but is easy to do, and is strong, and will stand up to the wind and the rain.

“Some people get hung up about the whole balance thing. They all come up with their own theories of why it works – they say I use Blu-Tac or superglue. I even had one bloke who was convinced I was working in a ‘zone of low gravity’.

“But it’s just balance and you can feel when you’ve got it right. I don’t see myself as clever, because anyone can balance rocks if they have the patience. It’s creating something beautiful from something very simple. It looks impressive and, if it instils a sense of wonder or magic, then I’m happy.”

Adrian prefers to do his balancing at daybreak and dusk, when the elements are usually at their calmest. He creates his shapes, photographs them and then sells the prints.

TV chef Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall is a huge fan and bought 12 pictures in one go, while the manager of a nursing home bought ten because she thought they would have a soothing influence on her residents.

Over the summer Adrian could be found on Monmouth Beach near Lyme, building sculptures and holding a competition to encourage others to do the same.

In recent weeks he has appeared on TV programmes Coast and Daybreak, and in a couple of national papers. His next ambition is to display his sculptures at a London gallery and also visit Japan, where he thinks the Zen aspect of his art will be appreciated. It’s great fun doing the balancing in a gallery because it creates an incredible tension that’s absolutely palpable and stops people talking. They start shushing each other and telling others to stop talking. It’s very funny.

“People think it’s performance art and are waiting for something to happen.

“What I want is to have three different base stones with the top stones on the floor next to them, so people can touch them and feel their texture.

“I’ll start the balancing and if it’s a wooden floor I’ll ask people not to move too much because it could break the balance. That should ratchet up the tension a bit more.”