'It could have been Mexico': the joy of whale-watching in Yorkshire

It may not be known for it, but England's north-eastern coast offers marine experiences than can compete with those in far more exotic locationsI was telling a Londoner recently about the North Yorkshire coast. "I really must go one day," she said, sounding unconvinced. "But we've already booked for Mexico next year - we're going whale-watching."I had already sold my home county's charms long enough, so I decided against landing another killer blow: God's own county has whales, too. Sean Baxter, a fisherman who lives in the village of Staithes, has been encouraging me to search them out for years. "The summer herring shoals are back," he told me recently. "We've got all sorts of marine life living off them: minke whales, porpoises, dolphins, basking sharks - even humpbacks and sunfish some years." Continue reading...