Plan a day in Thirsk · 11 places
Things to do near Thirsk with children
Animals to feed, a vet's surgery children can play in, birds of prey flying twice a day, and enough open grass to let everyone off the lead. Times and prices are on each page so you can judge what fits the afternoon.
1Monk Park Farm
10 min drive · Short drive
The nearest farm attraction to Thirsk, built around animal feeding and play, about ten minutes away by car
Ticketed, with booking through the farm's own website,... · allow about 2.5 hours
Add to my dayRead more about Monk Park Farm
2World of James Herriot
4 min walk · Thirsk on foot
The house at 23 Kirkgate where Alf Wight lived and practised, kept as the Skeldale House of the books
Adults 10, children 5, under-3s free · allow about 1.5 hours
Add to my dayRead more about World of James Herriot
3Thirsk Birds of Prey Centre
15 min drive · Short drive
Around 100 birds across 50 or more species in a walled garden, built around three free-flight displays a day
Adult 10.95, over-65s 9.95, child 8.95, under-3s free,... · allow about 3 hours
Add to my dayRead more about Thirsk Birds of Prey Centre- 4
The Forbidden Corner
55 min drive · Worth the day
A four-acre labyrinth of tunnels, follies and water tricks on the Tupgill Park Estate above Middleham. Admission is by pre-booked ticket only, so buy before you set off
Adults 19, over-60s 18, children 4 to 15 17, under-4s... · allow about 3 hours
Add to my dayRead more about The Forbidden Corner - 5
Flamingo Land Resort
40 min drive · Worth the day
A 375-acre theme park and zoo near Malton where one ticket covers both the coasters and the animals, including the ten-inversion Sik
Standard Admission is 46 to 58 on main-season dates, the... · allow about 8 hours
Add to my dayRead more about Flamingo Land Resort 
Railway illustration6North Yorkshire Moors Railway
50 min drive · Worth the day
A 24-mile heritage line running steam and heritage diesel from Pickering through Newtondale to Levisham, Goathland and Grosmont, deep inside the North York Moors National Park
Day Rover adults 48.95 at the regular rate or 38.50 on... · allow about 6 hours
Add to my dayRead more about North Yorkshire Moors Railway
7Thirsk and Sowerby Leisure and Wellbeing Hub
5 min walk · Thirsk on foot
The town pool on Chapel Street, rebuilt for 4 million in 2021, five minutes from the square and the cheapest swim for miles
Adult swim 6, child 4.5, under-4s 1.1, and a family... · allow about 1.5 hours
- 8
Woodland Lakes pool and spa
6 min drive · Short drive
A heated indoor pool at Carlton Miniott that locals can use for 7, with a spa in the same building
Swimming is 7 for an adult, 5 for a child aged 3 to 15,... · allow about 2 hours
Add to my dayRead more about Woodland Lakes pool and spa 
9National Railway Museum
40 min drive · Worth the day
The national collection of rail, free to walk into, twenty minutes by train from Thirsk and a few minutes on foot from York station
Free · allow about 3 hours
Add to my dayRead more about National Railway Museum
Wildlife illustration10National Centre for Birds of Prey
28 min drive · Short drive
Three flying displays a day whatever the weather, because one of the three flying areas is indoors
Adults 15, children aged 4 to 16 11.50, under-4s free,... · allow about 3 hours
Add to my dayRead more about National Centre for Birds of Prey- 11
Woodland Wild Swim and Sauna
6 min drive · Short drive
A sauna pod on the bank of a lake at Carlton Miniott, with a swim in the lake included, six minutes from the square
Session prices are not published on the website, only... · allow about 1.5 hours
Add to my dayRead more about Woodland Wild Swim and Sauna
More ideas
Other ways to spend the day
The great abbey ruins near Thirsk
Six monastic ruins within an hour or so of the market square, and no two of them run the same way.
Walks from Thirsk market square
Flat riverside loops you can do in an hour, a lime avenue out to Sowerby, and the cliff-top paths above Sutton Bank when you want a view.
Historic places near Thirsk
Two of the finest ruined abbeys in the country are within half an hour, and the town itself holds a 1940s vet's surgery, a Perpendicular church begun around 1430 and the birthplace of the man Lord's cricket ground is named after..
What to do in Thirsk when it rains
Yorkshire being Yorkshire, this is the list people actually need.
Dog-friendly days out from Thirsk
Riverside walks, market-square mornings and a ride on the moors railway, where dogs travel for 3 pounds.
Every one of these starts or finishes well at Tea Time Cafe, 87 Market Place. Build a plan with walk times and print it for the day.