Incredible sunset over one of Yorkshire's most prized beaches

Those who have wandered the beach over the last week or more will have thanked their luck as beautiful weather and beaming sunshine graced the region in the run-up and following the solstice on Tuesday last week, marking the start of summer.

Occurring when one of earth’s poles have the maximum tilt toward the sun, the solstice gives us the longest daylight hours.

According to the BBC, the red and orange colours we see as the sun rises and sets are due to the scattering of solar radiation in the atmosphere.

At dusk and dawn, when the sun is low in the sky, solar radiation takes a longer path through the atmosphere than it does during the middle part of the day, meaning there are more particles to scatter the visible light.

While the summer solstice means that the days will now gradually be getting shorter, there is plenty of time left to enjoy long days on the Yorkshire coast, with plenty of events planned.

Whitby has beaches on both sides of the River Esk.

Over on the east side, people can wander the smaller Tate Hill, which is a sheltered sandy beach that allows dogs all year round.

West Cliff, on the other side of West Pier, is a larger sandy beach with surroundings more typical of a popular seaside town – colourful beach huts, places to hire deckchairs and windbreakers, a children’s paddling pool and, of course, donkey rides.

Next month Whitby Beer Festival will take place, celebrating its 11th outing between July 28-31 at the Whitby Mission and Seafarers Centre.

On Saturday July 31 the Dippy Craft and Gift Fair returns for its two-day summer event on the Pavilion’s Northern Lights Suite on Whitby West Cliff.

Visitors will be able to browse between 40 and 50 stalls selling lots of locally produced items.