Tea Time gift vouchers come in 25, 50, 75 and 100, and they are on sale online: buy one on the website and it arrives by email with its code. Each one is valid for 12 months from issue.
We are the cafe at 87 Market Place, on the cobbled square in Thirsk, and a voucher is spent here: on afternoon tea, brunch, lunch, or a coffee and a slice of cake on a Saturday morning. This post covers what each voucher buys, who we would give one to, how buying works, and what a day in Thirsk looks like around it in winter.
What each voucher buys
Each amount comes with a suggestion of what it pays for.
| Voucher | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 25 | Two cream teas, or coffee and cake for two on a quiet afternoon |
| 50 | Brunch or lunch for two with drinks, or afternoon tea for two at today's price |
| 75 | Afternoon tea for three at today's price |
| 100 | Lunch and afternoon tea for the family, or a head start on a day in the room upstairs |
Afternoon tea is four kinds of finger sandwich (smoked salmon with Longley Farm soft cheese, Yorkshire ham and piccalilli, Yorkshire cheese and apricot chutney, pastrami and coleslaw), a sweet scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream, and three of the day's homemade cakes. Hot drinks are unlimited, and so are the iced teas and iced coffees. The afternoon tea page has the current price, and the stand can change a little with the season.
The tiers on the gift vouchers page are worked out from that price, so the number of afternoon teas a voucher promises is always the number it pays for in full. For any other amount, send the value and the recipient's name through the contact form and we will sort it.
The cake cabinet, with a flat white in front.
Who we would give one to
Someone who has everything
What you give is a morning out. For this person we would pick the 50: brunch or lunch for two, with drinks, and they choose who comes with them. The menu has the full breakfast and lunch list, so you can see what the voucher covers before you buy it.
Grandparents
Afternoon tea for three on the 75 voucher fits two grandparents and a grandchild. If they would like a quieter room, our till shows Tuesday to Thursday are the quietest days of the week, and Saturday is the busiest. A posted voucher with a handwritten note suits anyone who would rather open a card than an email.
A teacher
The 25 is two cream teas, or coffee and cake for two, which suits the end of the autumn term. It goes by email, so it can be forwarded to the school office or printed and put in a card.
A couple
At today's price the 50 covers afternoon tea for two, and Thirsk fills the rest of the day on foot. That day is further down.
How buying works
Online. Choose an amount on the gift vouchers page and pay online. You can add the recipient's name and a short message of up to 200 characters, and the voucher arrives by email with its code, ready to forward or print.
Posted, with a handwritten note. Send the amount and the recipient's name through the contact form, or ring us on 01845 523869, and we will post it with a note written by hand. In December, leave time for the post.
The voucher is valid for 12 months from the day it is issued. A voucher bought on 1 December is good until 1 December 2027, so there is time for a summer visit as well as a winter one.
Spending it
A voucher can be spent in the cafe or put against a booking. Afternoon tea is booked ahead: choose a date and an arrival time on the booking page at least 24 hours before, any half hour from 12 to 3, or 12 to 2 on Sundays, and pay in the cafe on the day. It is served to a minimum of two, and online bookings take two to six. For seven or more, ring 01845 523869. The cafe has 24 seats.
Afternoon tea can be made without gluten-containing ingredients with at least 24 hours' notice, in a kitchen that handles flour every morning. Our dietary page sets out what the kitchen can and cannot do, and if an allergy is serious, read it and ring us before booking.
Over Christmas itself, we close at one on Christmas Eve, so the only afternoon tea that day is at 12. We are closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and open as usual on the other days.
A day in Thirsk around it
Thirsk market runs on the cobbled square outside our door every Monday and Saturday. A Saturday gives you the stalls in the morning and afternoon tea at 12, and our market day guide has the rest of that morning.
After tea, the World of James Herriot is four minutes' walk up Kirkgate. It is 23 Kirkgate, the house where Alf Wight lived and worked, kept as the Skeldale House of the books. The museum recommends 90 minutes, it stays open through the winter apart from Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and its winter hours are on our page about it. A James Herriot day in Thirsk plans a whole day around him.
Thirsk Museum, a few steps from the Herriot museum in the house where Thomas Lord was born in 1755, is seasonal and closed over the winter from November. Its 2027 reopening date has not been published. A voucher runs for a year, so that one can wait for spring.
The blue plaque to James Alfred Wight, one of the stops on the town's trail.
The blue plaque trail works in any season, because the plaques are on the outsides of buildings and can be read in any daylight hour, any day. There are twenty around Thirsk and Sowerby, plus the new James Herriot plaque at Rowardennan. Stops 1 to 9 are flat and close together, which suits a short December afternoon. The day planner has walk times and opening hours for all of these, and fits them around a booked afternoon tea.
Two Christmas workshops, as presents
If the present is a morning or an afternoon to share, two workshops run upstairs at the cafe before Christmas. Both are booked and paid on their own pages, and the confirmation email arrives as soon as the payment goes through.
Festive foliage wreath making is on Friday 27 November, 1pm to 3pm, with local florist Holly from Tarragon Flowers. You make a Christmas wreath from sustainably grown foliage and greenery, and all the materials, a hot drink and festive nibbles are included. A place is 45, there are 12 places, and places are non-refundable unless we cancel.
The Christmas rag wreath workshop is on Friday 4 December, 10am to 12pm, with local maker Helen Shakespeare, who makes rag rugs and rag wreaths from clothing given another use. The wreath frame, reused fabric, tools and refreshments are included. A place is 20, there are 12 places, and one booking takes up to six. Cancel by 10am on Tuesday 1 December for a full refund.
Before you buy
A voucher runs out 12 months after it is issued, so tell the person when it was bought. The afternoon teas on the 50 and 75 are what those amounts pay for at today's price, and if Rosa's price changes, the page changes with it. Saturday is our busiest day and the cafe has 24 seats, so a voucher for afternoon tea on a Saturday in December wants booking well ahead.
Ordering
Pick an amount on the gift vouchers page for an emailed code. For a posted voucher with a handwritten note, or any other amount, use the contact form or ring 01845 523869.
