Thirsk and Herriot Country

Thirsk is a genuinely handsome North Yorkshire market town that would probably get modest attention on its own, but it has one significant advantage over most of its neighbours: it’s the real-life home of Alf Wight, the vet who wrote as James Herriot and turned his working life here into the bestselling books that became All Creatures Great and Small, on television twice over (1978-90 and again from 2020). For fans of either version, Thirsk is close to a pilgrimage site. For everyone else, it’s a solid, unpretentious market town worth an hour or two.

Getting there

Thirsk has a direct train service from York, taking around 25 minutes — a straightforward, no-change journey on the East Coast Main Line corridor, covered in more detail in getting to York and York day trips by train. By car, it’s a similar journey time via the A19 and A168, and driving gives you the option of continuing into the Yorkshire Dales afterwards if you want to see the actual filming locations, which are some distance from the town itself — see day trips from York by car for route planning.

The World of James Herriot

The centrepiece of a Thirsk visit is the World of James Herriot, housed in 23 Kirkgate — the actual former veterinary surgery where Alf Wight worked as a real vet from 1940 until his death in 1995, writing under the pen name James Herriot to protect his professional reputation (veterinary regulations of the time restricted advertising, and a bestselling author openly practising under his own name would have caused problems). The museum recreates the 1940s surgery and Wight’s home with genuine period detail, alongside exhibitions on both television adaptations and the real veterinary practice that inspired the books.

It’s a well-done, immersive small museum — the kind of place that rewards actually having read the books or watched the show, since a lot of its appeal is recognition rather than pure historical interest. Budget 1.5-2 hours for a proper visit.

Book World of James Herriot tickets in advance if you’re visiting during school holidays or a weekend, when the museum can be busier than its size comfortably handles.

Thirsk market square

Thirsk’s cobbled market square, one of the largest and most attractive in North Yorkshire, has hosted a Monday market continuously since 1145 — a genuinely long, if not perfectly unbroken, tradition. It’s a proper working market rather than a curated tourist version, selling everything from fresh produce to household goods, and the square itself, ringed by Georgian and older buildings, is worth a slow walk even outside market hours. A statue of James Herriot’s fictional alter ego stands in the square, and several of the buildings around it retain their original shopfronts from the era the books describe.

Thirsk Racecourse and Thirsk Museum

Thirsk Racecourse, just outside the town centre, holds regular flat racing meetings through the season (roughly April to September) — a genuinely local, less commercialised experience than bigger racecourses like York’s own, worth checking the fixture list if horse racing interests you and your visit lines up. In the town itself, the Thirsk Museum, in the birthplace of Thomas Lord (the man who founded Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, one of Thirsk’s more surprising claims to fame), covers local history more broadly than the Herriot connection, including cricket memorabilia relating to Lord.

Herriot country beyond Thirsk

It’s worth being honest about something the marketing sometimes blurs: while the World of James Herriot museum is genuinely in Thirsk, most of the actual filming locations for both TV adaptations of All Creatures Great and Small are in the Yorkshire Dales, particularly around Grassington and Arncliffe (which doubled as the fictional Darrowby surroundings), over an hour further west.

If seeing the on-screen landscapes is your main goal rather than the historical Herriot connection, plan a separate trip or extend your day toward Grassington and Wharfedale — Thirsk on its own gives you the real history but not the filming scenery, and conflating the two leads to disappointed expectations.

The real veterinary practice today

Alf Wight’s veterinary practice didn’t close when he retired or when he died in 1995 — it continued operating under the name Skeldale Veterinary Centre from newer premises elsewhere in Thirsk, a detail that surprises some visitors who assume the whole practice ended with its founder. The museum at 23 Kirkgate preserves the original Victorian building where Wight worked for most of his career, recreated to look as it would have in the 1940s and 1950s, the period covered by most of the early books.

Seeing the genuine period veterinary equipment — much of it startlingly basic by modern standards — gives a clearer sense than the books alone of how physically demanding large-animal veterinary work was in that era, long before modern anaesthetics and equipment made the job safer for both vet and animal.

Sowerby and the wider town

Thirsk technically comprises two adjoining settlements — Thirsk itself and Sowerby, a quieter residential area to the south with a long, tree-lined main street and its own parish church, St Oswald’s, notably larger and older in parts than Thirsk’s own parish church. It’s a pleasant short walk from the market square if you want to see a different, less commercial side of the town, though most visitors with limited time stick to the core sights around Kirkgate and the market place.

Where to eat

Thirsk has a reasonable spread of traditional tea rooms and pubs around the market square, unpretentious and generally good value rather than destination dining — this isn’t Malton in terms of food ambition, but it’s a pleasant, easy place for lunch between the museum and a wander around the square.

Why the books still resonate

Part of what’s kept the Herriot books and their TV adaptations popular across more than five decades — the original novels were published from 1970, the first TV series ran 1978-90, and a fresh adaptation began in 2020 — is that Alf Wight wrote from direct, unglamorised experience of rural veterinary practice in the 1930s-50s, a period of huge change in British farming as mechanisation and modern veterinary medicine transformed working life in the Dales. The stories combine genuine affection for the landscape and its people with a fairly clear-eyed account of how physically hard and financially precarious both farming and veterinary work were at the time, which gives the books more substance than pure nostalgia.

Visiting Thirsk with that context — rather than expecting a purely cosy, picture-postcard experience — tends to make the World of James Herriot museum land better, since its strongest exhibits are the ones that show the real difficulty of the work behind the fiction.

Practical notes

Thirsk is small and entirely walkable — the train station, market square and World of James Herriot museum are all within about 15 minutes of each other on foot. Half a day is enough to see the town properly; it’s not a destination that demands a full day unless you’re combining it with a drive into the Dales to chase the actual filming locations. Monday visits get the bonus of the market in full swing, though the square is worth seeing on any day.

This fits naturally alongside a wider Howardian Hills and North Yorkshire trip: Malton and Castle Howard are both within a reasonable drive, and if you’re chasing the Herriot filming locations properly, Grassington and Wharfedale in the Yorkshire Dales is the honest next stop. See the Herriot Country day trip guide for a route that covers both the real history in Thirsk and the on-screen scenery further west, and the Yorkshire Dales from York guide if you’re extending the trip.

Frequently asked questions about Thirsk and Herriot Country

How long does it take to get from York to Thirsk?

Around 25 minutes by direct train, with no change required.

Is the World of James Herriot the actual veterinary surgery from the books?

Yes — it’s housed in 23 Kirkgate, the real former practice where Alf Wight (James Herriot) worked as a vet from 1940 to 1995. The museum recreates the period surgery and his home alongside exhibitions on both TV adaptations.

Were the All Creatures Great and Small TV shows filmed in Thirsk?

Not primarily. Most filming for both the 1978-90 and 2020-onward adaptations took place in the Yorkshire Dales, particularly around Grassington and Arncliffe, over an hour from Thirsk. Thirsk itself holds the genuine historical connection through the real surgery, not the on-screen filming locations.

When is Thirsk’s market day?

Monday, in the cobbled market square, a tradition dating back to 1145.

How much time do I need in Thirsk?

Half a day is generally enough for the World of James Herriot museum, the market square and a wander around town. It’s not a full-day destination on its own.

Do I need to book World of James Herriot tickets in advance?

It’s recommended for weekends and school holidays, when the museum’s relatively small spaces can get busy. Weekday visits outside peak season usually don’t require advance booking.