Darwin Gardens

04/12/2025

Where has the Darwin Gardens Maze Board gone?

The maze features 1000 individually donated flagstones, one for each year of the Millennium. The maze board gives the name of each donor and shows the location of each stone by its number. The board has just celebrated its 25th birthday and, in honour of this, it’s being refurbished and is on track to be re-installed early in 2026. We'll keep you updated once the new board is in position!

Ilkley Chat Discover Ilkley Ilkley Gazette

30/07/2025

Come and spend an hour in Darwin Gardens, exploring the wonderful array of trees that grow there. Sue Stevens, the author of the Darwin Gardens and Ilkley Moor Tree Trail, will lead a guided tour on Wednesday 6th August at 10:30am, meeting in Darwin Gardens car park from 10.15am.

The tour will last approximately 60 minutes. It will be an easy walk around Darwin Gardens and surrounding grassed areas. The walk includes 3 steps at the beginning which can be avoided with a short detour.

For more information about the Tree Trail, visit our Darwin Gardens and Ilkley Moor Tree Trail page: https://darwingardens.org.uk/darwin-gardens-and-ilkley-moor-tree-trail/

24/07/2025

We’re excited to be taking part in this year’s Love Parks campaign, organised by Keep Britain Tidy. Love Parks is a week-long celebration highlighting the vital role green spaces play in boosting the health and wellbeing of residents and communities.

Head on over to the Darwin Gardens website to get some inspiration for activity ideas over Love Parks week and the rest of the summer holidays! https://darwingardens.org.uk/love-parks-25-jul-03-aug-2025/

15/07/2025

The Darwin Gardens Millennium Green Trust is very happy to announce that Darwin Gardens, a lovingly restored green space that has recently celebrated its 25-year anniversary, has received a coveted Green Flag Award for 2025-26.

The Green Flag Award is the international quality mark for parks and green spaces. Ilkley’s Darwin Gardens Millennium Green, having met the high standards required for the accreditation, has officially been recognised as one of the country’s best parks. To find out more, visit the Darwin Gardens Millennium Green website: https://darwingardens.org.uk/darwin-gardens-awarded-prestigious-green-flag-for-2025-26/

03/07/2025

A ceremony was held on Tuesday 24th June to celebrate both the 25th anniversary of Darwin Gardens Millennium Green and to unveil a new memorial to commemorate Frazer Irwin, who was a key driving force and visionary behind the original concept for the Gardens’ creation in 2000.

To read more about it, visit the Darwin Gardens website: https://darwingardens.org.uk/frazer-irwin-memorial-unveiled-during-poignant-ceremony-in-darwin-gardens/

19/06/2025

To kick off our 25th anniversary celebrations, there will be an unveiling of a new Frazer Irwin Memorial Board on Tuesday 24 June at 11.00am in Darwin Gardens. There will be a brief ceremony, followed by the opportunity to explore the beautiful gardens.

The wonderful photo dates to June 2000, when Jilly Cooper officially opened the Gardens.

08/05/2025

Please come along to Ilkley Civic Society's Local History Hub walk on Saturday 31st May at 2:45pm. Meeting in the Darwin Gardens car park, the walk will take you around the Green and down through Mill Ghyll, learning about the history of the area from when there was a bandstand in West View Park in the early 1900s through to the opening of Darwin Gardens at the turn of the new millennium, 25 years ago.

For further information, please contact Alex Cockshott at Ilkley Civic Society's Local History Hub: https://civicsociety.ilkley.org/contact.html

01/05/2025

10/04/2025

Fill up your flask and pack up a picnic. The sun is out and it's the perfect opportunity to head on up to Ilkley Moor and find a secret spot in Darwin Gardens!

FOIRS - Friends of Ilkley Rail Station Ilkley Chat Discover Ilkley

27/03/2025

Meeting friends from further afield for a weekend walk? Why not send them the what3words location for the Darwin Garden's car park so that they know exactly where to find you?! ///certainly.emotional.revisit

11/03/2025

Darwin Gardens is looking beautiful in the spring sunshine, with snowdrops and daffodils bringing life and colour back to the landscape after what seems like a very long winter! Why not pay the Gardens a visit whilst the weather remains pleasant?