[Perplexed of Leicester (OP)]

At the weekend, I visited Whitby, in Yorkshire and witnessed the sun setting in the North Sea, to the north-west of me. How is this possible?

[jeffreyH]

This depends upon the position of the ecliptic. This is generally the path that planets and the sun take around the sky from our point of view. Also the coastline at Whitby is slanted north westwards.

[chris]

Thanks - but this is not a question of the week so strictly should be in one of the other boards. Someone will move it in due course.

[Bill S]

Hi Perplexed of Leicester, welcome.  Did you "jet" into Whitby?  Sorry; it got the better of me. 

Not on topic, but relevant to orientation. 

At Hunstanton, on the East Norfolk coast, there is a stretch of West-facing cliffs.

[RD]

sunset is North East.png (280.8 kB . 835x698 - viewed 14301 times)
http://suncalc.net/#/54.5905,-0.6743,5/2018.06.26/21:29

[evan_au]

sunset is North East.png

I'm afraid the graphic is a bit cryptic, RD.
Can you put some words around it, please?

For us here in the more temperate climes of Australia, the Sun is north of us most of the day, most of the year.

[saspinski]

At even higher latitudes the sun doesn't set in the summer.

If we travel to the south, from a place where the midnight sun happens, we will cross regions where the sun at midnight is just below the horizon, exactly to the north.

And it crosses the horizon, in the sunset, between west and north.

[Colin2B]

Did you "jet" into Whitby? 

You and your black humour