Thirsk Voyage Tips and guide

Thirsk is a market town in North Yorkshire, 23 miles north of York, with a population of 5900 in 2021. It's best known for its racecourse and as the home of the veterinarian "James Herriot". It's also a good base for touring the North York Moors, which rise steeply a few miles east of town.

The fertile Vale of Mowbray has long been settled: in the Domesday Book this place was Tresche, and in Old Norse it was þresk meaning a fen. In an era when wealth was based on agriculture, Thirsk grew into a comfortable little market town, with only occasional disruptions by passing armies. Heavy industry also passed it by, as did the railway and A1, so its pleasant centre has been preserved. Agriculture remains the mainstay of life in Thirsk, plus light industry (often farm-related) and commuter housing for York.

Visit Thirsk is the tourist information centre in Market Place, open M-Sa 10AM-4PM.

54°13′48″N 1°20′24″W

Map of Thirsk

Thirsk is on the main London Kings Cross - York - Edinburgh line, but most trains thunder through. From the south you generally change at York onto the hourly train from Manchester Airport to Leeds, York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Yarm, Thornaby, Middlesbrough and Redcar. York to Thirsk is 15 min: look east to spot Kilburn White Horse on the hillside as the train approaches Thirsk.

54.2283-1.37261 Thirsk railway station is a mile and a half west of town on A61. Access to the platforms is via steep steps. There's a staffed ticket office and machines, and toilets. No cafe but the Old Red House adjacent is your pub refuge.

Transdev Bus 30 / 30X runs from York hourly M-Sa, taking just over an hour via Easingwold.

Hodgsons Bus 70 runs five times M-Sa from Northallerton, taking 25 min to Thirsk and continuing to Ripon (another 45 min). Bus 153 also runs 3 times M-Sa from Northallerton.

May-Sep Moorsbus M5 runs from Easingwold to Thirsk and Helmsley 3 or 4 times Sa Su.

54.2326-1.34282 Market Place is the main bus stop.

By road from the south follow A1(M) onto A168. Avoid coming via York, the ring road is always congested.

From the east, A170 is a scenic road over the moors from Scarborough via Pickering and Helmsley, but caravans and heavy vehicles must not attempt Sutton Bank, the scarp edge five miles east of Thirsk.

"World of James Herriot" and Thirsk Museum are near town centre, but you need a car to get into the moors.

A dozen taxi firms ply in town.

• Market Place is a pleasant broad cobbled expanse lined by 18th and 19th century buildings, pity about the traffic.
• 54.2333-1.34491 World of James Herriot, 23 Kirkgate YO7 1PL, ☏ +44 1845 524234. Daily Apr-Oct 9:30AM-5PM, Nov-Mar 10AM-4PM. Alf Wight (1916-1995) was a vet in Thirsk for almost 50 years and wrote an acclaimed series of stories under his pen-name James Herriot. "Darrowby" was his fictional Thirsk, with a bit of Richmond, Leyburn and Middleham mixed in. The stories were adapted for film and TV in the 1970s as All Creatures Great and Small and It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet. That first title was especially apt because his work covered farm beasts and pet animals in a way that's nowadays uncommon. This unassuming terraced house was his practice premises, now a museum of his works and their fictional counterparts. Adult £8.50, child £5. (updated Nov 2025)
• Thirsk Museum, 14 Kirkgate YO7 1PQ (opposite World of James Herriot), ☏ +44 1845 527707. Apr-Oct M-Sa 10AM-4PM. Small volunteer-run museum of local history. The house was the birthplace of the cricketer Thomas Lord (1755-1832): he bowled for Middlesex but is best known for establishing Lord's MCC cricket ground. Free. (updated Nov 2025)
• St Mary's Church on Kirkgate is Anglican. It dates from the 15th century but is mostly 19th-century Perpendicular Gothic.
• Zillah Bell Gallery is a commercial gallery at 15 Kirkgate, open Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM.
• Don't see the castle. It probably stood at the north end of Castlegate (perhaps a clue?) but in the eyes of Henry II was "adulterine" - rebelliously raised against him - so it was demolished in 1176. A manor house was then built on the site. In 1322 the Scots, emboldened by their victory at Bannockburn, raided Yorkshire and almost captured Edward II with his trousers down; they utterly demolished the manor house.
• 54.2546-1.42762 Thirsk Birds of Prey Centre, Sion Hill Hall YO7 4EU, ☏ +44 1845 587522. Mar-Oct daily 10:30AM-5PM. Eagles, falcons, hawks and other raptors, with three flying displays daily. It's in the grounds of Sion Hill Hall, a splendid Edwardian pile, but which can only be visited by private group tour. Adult £11, conc £10, child £8. (updated Nov 2025)
• 54.2258-1.28073 Monk Park Farm, Green Lane, Bagby YO7 2AG (off A170 to Moor Lane), ☏ +44 1845 421124. M-F 10AM-3PM, Sa Su 10AM-4PM. Petting farm. (updated Nov 2025)
• 54.238-1.2154 Sutton Bank is the scarp of the North York Moors rising five miles east of town on A170, the road to Helmsley. Caravans and heavy vehicles are not permitted on this steep road: everyone else, engage low gear. There's a visitor centre at the top, views west over Vale of York, and walks along the scarp edge. Gliders whoosh out from the airstrip next to the main road.

• 54.225-1.2135 Kilburn White Horse is cut into the scarp and best viewed from below along Low Town Bank Road. It was created in 1857 by stripping off the topsoil then covering the sandstone bedrock with limestone chips.
• 54.2032-1.15936 Byland Abbey, Byland, Coxwold YO61 4BD, ☏ +44 370 333 1181. All daylight hours. This was founded in 1135 and joined the Cistercians in 1147, while falling out mightily with other religious foundations. In 1322 King Edward II was almost caught near here by a raiding army of Scots under Robert the Bruce; his defenders were routed but he managed to scarper. In the 15th century an unknown monk of Byland penned one of the earliest known collections of ghost stories, jotting them on blank pages of an older manuscript. The abbey was dissolved in 1538 and fell into ruin. The most impressive remains today are the west frontage, which contained a great rose window. Free. (updated Nov 2025)
• 54.1812-1.17017 Newburgh Priory, Coxwold YO61 4AS, ☏ +44 1347 868372. Apr-Jun W & Su 2:30-5:30PM. The Priory was founded in 1145 but what you see now is a 16th-century mansion, embellished in modern times. It's often used as a wedding venue. House £5, garden £5. (updated Nov 2025)
• 54.1887-1.18758 Shandy Hall, Thirsk Bank, Coxwold YO61 4AD, ☏ +44 1347 868465. Closed for repairs. Laurence Sterne (1713-68) rattled around Ireland and Europe, but his longest settled stay was his 20 years as vicar of nearby Sutton-in-the-Forest, where he wrote Tristram Shandy. This small museum celebrates his life and work. With a charming garden, and Sterne would have encouraged you later to have a drink at the adjacent Fauconberg, a 17th-century pub with rooms named for his patron. (updated Nov 2025)
• See Helmsley for magnificent Rievaulx Abbey and for Ampleforth which remains an active Benedictine monastery.

• Ritz Cinema at 16 Westgate is volunteer-run.
• 54.2323-1.35741 Thirsk Racecourse, Station Rd YO7 1QL, ☏ +44 1845 522276. This has regular flat-racing April-Oct. Free parking for all enclosures. On race days a shuttle bus plies from the railway station. (updated Nov 2025)
• 54.2314-1.34072 Thirsk & Sowerby Leisure Centre, Chapel St YO7 1LU, ☏ +44 1845 522447. M-F 7AM-9:30PM, Sa 7AM-4PM, Su 7AM-3PM. Gym, pool, drop-in fitness sessions. (updated Nov 2025)
• Golf: Thirsk & Northallerton GC is 2 miles north of town. White tees 6564 yards, par 72.

Thistle Hill is a 9-hole course near Topcliffe.

• Yorkshire Gliding Club is based above Sutton Bank.
• Football is played only at amateur level. Thirsk RUFC play rugby union: their pitch is within the racecourse loop. Thirsk Falcons play soccer at Sowerby Gateway.
• Deer Shed Festival is held at Baldersby Park in Topcliffe, with music, mixed arts, science and sports. The next is 24-26 July 2026.

• Lidl and Tesco (with fuel) are west edge of town centre and Aldi is south along B1448. They're all open daily.

• Istanbul Grill is at 8 Market Place, open Su-Th noon-10PM, F Sa noon-11PM.
• Bianco Ristorante is at 17 Market Place, open daily 11AM-10PM.
• Racha Thai is in Baker's Alley off Market Place, open Su, Tu-Th 5-9PM, F Sa 5-10PM.
• Upstairs Downstairs is a deli cafe at 25 Market Place, open M-Sa 9AM-4PM, Su 10AM-4PM.
• Yorks of Thirsk is a cafe in the Old Post Office on Market Place, open M-Sa 9AM-4:30PM, Su 10AM-4PM.
• Hung Moey is a Chinese at 60 Market Place, open W-M 5-11PM.
• Tea Time Cafe, 87 Market Place YO7 1ET, ☏ +44 1845 523869. M-Sa 8:30AM-4PM, Su 9AM-3PM. Welcoming cafe with homemade food. (updated Nov 2025)
• White Horse Cafe serves fish & chips at 91 Market Place M-Sa 11AM-7PM plus Sunday in winter. Takeaway is available till 8PM.
• Bengal Kitchen on Millgate is open daily 5-11PM.
• Manor Italia is at 14 Millgate, open W-Sa 5-9PM.

• The Red Bear is at 47 Market Place.
• Three Tuns is at 54 Market Place, see below.
• The Royal Thirsk is at 57 Market Place.
• Black Bull is at 75 Market Place.
• Mowbray Arms is at 83 Market Place.
• Little 3 is at 13 Finkle St.

• Golden Fleece Hotel, Market Place YO7 1LL, ☏ +44 1845 523108. Comfy place, very central, with bar and food. B&B double £110. (updated Nov 2025)
• The Three Tuns, 54 Market Place YO7 1LH, ☏ +44 1845 521370. Decent mid-price choice in an 18th-century coaching inn. The poet Wordsworth had his honeymoon here, perhaps for the sake of a rhyme with "JD Wetherspoon". Double (room only) £60. (updated Nov 2025)
• Fourways Guest House, Town End YO7 1PY, ☏ +44 1845 522601. Simple but comfy guest house. B&B double £100. (updated Nov 2025)

• Thirsk Hall is a 1720s mansion on Newsham Rd behind the racecourse. It's mainly an events venue but offers glamping in yurts. Its sculpture garden has closed down.
• 54.2189-1.35331 Premier Inn, Gateway, Sowerby YO7 3HF, ☏ +44 333 234 6563. Good budget choice a mile southwest of town. B&B double £80. (updated Nov 2025)
• 54.2555-1.28442 Carpenters Arms, 1 Church View, Felixkirk YO7 2DP, ☏ +44 1845 537369. Excellent village pub with very comfy rooms, good dining. The Garden Rooms are dog-friendly. B&B double £130. (updated Nov 2025)
• 54.2068-1.27973 Thirkleby Hall Caravan Park, Thirkleby YO7 3AR, ☏ +44 1845 501360, [email protected]. Caravan park in the grounds of an old stately home with seasonal pitches. They no longer offer short stay pitches but have two caravans for weekly hire. (updated Nov 2025)
• 54.2121-1.1884 Black Swan at Oldstead, Oldstead YO61 4BL, ☏ +44 1347 868387. Small upscale hotel with excellent dining. No children, assistance dogs only. (updated Nov 2025)

As of Nov 2025, Thirsk and its approach roads have 4G from O2 and Vodafone, and 5G from EE and Three.

• York to the south is a must-see. The Yorkshire Farming Museum on the west edge of the city has more about vet practice in Herriot's time.
• Ripon is a charming old market town, but its big draw is Fountains Abbey.
• Harrogate is a genteel spa town with attractive gardens. The taste of its spa waters is not easily forgotten.
• The North York Moors rise sharply to the east of Thirsk.

York ← junction ←	S  N	→ Northallerton → Middlesbrough
Harrogate ← Ripon ←	SW  NE	→ END
Leeds ← merges with south ←	SW  NE	→ merges with