Electric cars
The short version: charge at MFG on York Road, which has eight 150 kW chargers open all day and night for 59p a unit. The single bay in the town centre works often enough to be handy and not often enough to rely on.
In Thirsk
Listed best first rather than nearest first, because the nearest one is the least dependable.
The best charger in Thirsk by a distance, and the one to plan around. Costa, Greggs, McDonald's and toilets on site. If you stay more than 30 minutes you have to register your car in the fuel station shop.
The only public charging bay in the town centre, and its user-review record is patchy: 5.9 out of 10 across 58 check-ins, with several failures that were app or payment problems rather than dead hardware. Treat it as a bonus rather than a plan. Overstay is 10 beyond 90 minutes.
Rated 10 out of 10 by users, and fine for topping up over a shop. Drivers report a three-hour ANPR limit, which Tesco does not publish. Some listings still say these are free. They are not.
Parking is 5 a day on top. Useful if you are leaving the car and catching a train, less so otherwise, and nobody publishes the power output.
On the way in or out
If you are passing rather than stopping, these are the big sites either side of Thirsk on the A1.
The nearest rapid charger south, and the only one nearby where a plain contactless bank card is confirmed to work. Starbucks, Costa, Greggs and toilets.
The one to use coming from the north. Rated 10 out of 10 by users, and there is a McDonald's on site.
The one to use coming from the south, and the largest site in the area.
Worth knowing
Questions
MFG Thirsk Services on York Road, about three quarters of a mile from the Market Place. Eight chargers at 150 kW, 59p a unit, open all day and night, with free parking and somewhere to sit while you wait.
One, in Millgate car park. It is a single 50 kW bay run by bp pulse, and its user-review record is patchy, scoring 5.9 out of 10 across 58 check-ins. It works often enough to be useful and not often enough to build a journey around.
Several of the reported failures are app and payment problems rather than broken hardware, which is why a charger can look dead to somebody walking past. The older 5 kW posts in Millgate really were disabled, in March 2024, and have not come back.
Yes. There are four chargers in the station multi-storey at Carlton Miniott, run by APCOA at 55p a unit through their app, with the car park open all the time. Parking is 5 a day on top, so this suits people leaving a car rather than passing through.
MFG on York Road at 150 kW, under a mile away. After that it is InstaVolt at Topcliffe, two miles south at 125 kW, then the big GRIDSERVE sites at Leeming Bar to the north and Wetherby to the south, both up to 360 kW.
No. The racecourse lists three free car parks and no charging, and no charger there appears in any of the mapping databases.
Prices and connector details checked on 23 August 2026. Charger data ages quickly, so confirm on the operator’s own app before you rely on a figure.