Varifocals · Independent opticians, Liverpool
Varifocals in Liverpool that actually work
If varifocals have made you dizzy, or you keep swapping between pairs, the lenses were probably never fitted to you. We do it properly, and we make the frame to fit.
- ★★★★★15 reviews mention varifocals
- Usually ready in 48 hours
- Essilor · Nikon · Zeiss · Hoya
Happy with your frames? Ask about reglazing them instead of a new pair. Struggling with a pair from elsewhere? Bring them in for a second opinion.
Gavin’s promise
There is no head office here, just me. I measure, fit and check every pair of varifocals myself. If your glasses are not right, come back and I will put them right, free, with no forms and no arguing. I would far rather you told me than put up with them.
Gavin Winstanley, owner, Winstanley & Son, 252 Park Road
A varifocal is only as good as its fitting
A varifocal lens has a narrow corridor of clear vision that has to sit exactly in front of your pupils, at the right height, at the right distance from your eye. Chains fit thousands of pairs against a template. If the frame slides, tilts or was never measured on your face, the corridor is in the wrong place and your brain fights it. That is the dizziness, the swimming floor, the reading zone you can never find.
We measure the fitting position on your face, in your chosen frame, with the Essilor Visioffice X digital measuring system. Not a felt-tip pen and a ruler. If the frame will not hold the measurement, we adjust it or make you one that does.
Three steps to varifocals you forget you’re wearing
An unhurried eye test
Our optometrist examines your eyes and how you use them: reading, screens, driving, hobbies. That decides the lens design, not a price list.
Measured to you, in your frame
The Essilor Visioffice X measures your pupils, the frame position and the angle on your face, to a fraction of a millimetre. No felt tip. Stock, designer or a frame made by hand for you.
Usually ready in 48 hours, fitted by Gavin
We fit the finished glasses, adjust them on your face and show you how to use them. Come back as often as you like for adjustments.
The price, plainly
Varifocal lenses from £205
All six advertised upgrades, worth up to £497, plus your eye examination included.
- ✔ Varifocal lensesfrom £205
- ✔ Transitions XTRActive, drive anti-glare, anti-scratch, blue light and thinner lenses up to 1.74, the thinnest possibleincluded
- ✔ Eye examinationincluded
- Framespriced separately
Frames priced separately. Up to £497 is the value of the upgrades, not the price of the glasses: £497 when your prescription needs 1.74 lenses, the thinnest possible. Your prescription and lens design set the lens price; we give you the exact figure before anything is ordered. 0% finance over six months, without credit checks.
What varifocal patients say
“After struggling with my varifocals for three years I thought I’d give it a go. My lenses are 100%, it’s like seeing in a whole new world. There was no hard sell. 100% worth travelling for.”
“My first pair of varifocals, and I knew they specialised in them. I chose the bespoke frames and I absolutely love them. They were worth every penny.”
“I decided to go for the Nikon lens and the difference is like night and day compared to my five-month-old lenses from a well known high street chain.”
Common questions
Varifocals, answered
Why do my varifocals make me feel dizzy?
Usually because the lens was not measured to your eyes and frame, or the frame does not sit where it was measured. A felt-tip dot on a demo lens is not a measurement. Varifocals only work when the corridor lines up with your pupils, so a few millimetres out feels like swimming. We measure the fitting position on your face and, where needed, make the frame to hold it.
How long do varifocals take?
Usually within 48 hours of your eye test, for most prescriptions. Some lenses take a little longer and we tell you at the time.
Which varifocal lenses do you use?
Essilor, Nikon, Zeiss and Hoya, chosen for your prescription and how you use your eyes, not for a target.
I’ve given up on varifocals. Is it worth trying again?
Many of our patients had given up. Lucy K. struggled for three years before coming to us and now says it is “like seeing in a whole new world”. If they can be made to work for you, we will make them work.
Can I spread the cost?
Yes, 0% finance over six months, without credit checks.
Give varifocals one more chance
Book an eye test on Park Road. If they can be made to work for you, we will make them work.
Written by Gavin Winstanley, who has been making eyewear on Park Road since 1998 and fits the varifocals himself. Last updated .