It is free if you are under 16, in full-time education at 16 to 18, 60 or over, diabetic or glaucomatous, 40 or over with a close relative who has glaucoma, registered sight impaired, on a qualifying benefit, or holding a valid HC2 certificate. Ring and read us the first line of your benefit letter — we would rather check than charge you.

Forty minutes for a full examination. That is the whole point of the practice: refraction, slit lamp, pressures, fields where indicated, OCT and retinal photography, and time to explain what we found.

Yes, always. Under section 26 of the Opticians Act 1989 whoever tests your sight must hand you a signed written prescription immediately after the test. It is your property. We will give you your pupillary distance too, if you ask.

No. Flashes, new floaters, sudden loss of vision, a red painful eye, something in the eye or sudden double vision — ring us directly. Telephone triage first, then normally a face-to-face appointment within 24 hours, and no charge.

Yes, annually, for everyone under 16 and for 16 to 18 year olds in full-time education. Cycloplegic refraction where it is needed, and axial length monitoring if we are watching a prescription move.

A fixed amount set nationally, from £42.40 for a voucher A to £212.40 for a voucher D, plus £73.10 and £61.77 for the complex lens vouchers. It comes off the total whatever you choose — most of our own range is covered outright.

Single vision is glazed on our own bench, usually inside three working days. Varifocals and high-index lenses come from the laboratory and take about a week.

No. The examination is a clinical appointment that happens to take place in a shop, and we keep those two things separate. Dispensing is a conversation you have afterwards, with the prices already published on this website.