Rush to book whale watching trips from the Yorkshire coast as boats start running again

Yorkshire Coast Nature will begin running their wildlife watching tours from Staithes, near Whitby, in July after the lockdown delayed the beginning of the summer season.

The trips - which have a maximum capacity of 10 and must be booked in advance - last all day and passengers can spot minke whales, bottlenose and white-beaked dolphins, harbour porpoises and a range of seabird species including puffins and gannets.

Tourist boat operators have been forced to berth their vessels during the coronavirus crisis and have missed several weeks of sailings, during which there have been several reported whale and dolphin sightings off the Yorkshire coast.

As well as Yorkshire Coast Nature, whose focus is on birds as well as cetaceans, there are several private operators running their own charter trips from Scarborough, Whitby and Bridlington. Many are former commercial fishermen who have converted their boats for tourism.

A minke whale was seen near Filey Sailing Club last month and a pod of bottlenose dolphins from the Moray Firth in Scotland were spotted from Marine Drive in Scarborough.

Sightings increase during periods of clear weather when more people are out and about along the coast and visibility is good.

The first tour - which has only one place remaining - departs Staithes at 8am on Friday July 17, and there are trips on Fridays, Saturdays and some Sundays until September 26.

Four trips are already fully booked, including two on the August Bank Holiday weekend, and several more have fewer than five places remaining.

A nine-hour trip costs £90 and passengers are accompanied by guides who are experienced ornithologists. Six hours are spent at sea and the land-based part from a coastal watchpoint.

Click here to book.